Slovakia Orders Cutting Russia's Embassy Staff by 35 Personnel

On Monday, Moscow gave three Slovak diplomats 72 hours to leave Russia in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Bratislava earlier in March.

Slovakia has ordered cutting the Russian embassy staff by 35 personnel. The Russian embassy has confirmed to Sputnik that the ambassador was summoned to the Slovak Foreign Ministry, where he was notified of the personnel cut.

A spokesman for the Russian embassy said that the staffers were ordered to leave the country by 30 April.

According to Juraj Tomaga, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, the aim of the move is to "set a maximum number of diplomatic and service passport holders at this (Russian) mission."

The move comes two days after Russia ousted three Slovak diplomats, giving them 72 hours to leave the country. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Slovakian Ambassador Lubomir Regak and informed him about Moscow’s decision, which was made in response to the expulsion of three employees of the Russian Embassy in Bratislava earlier this month.

Russia has promised to respond to "unfriendly" steps taken against Russian missions abroad by a number of nations. On Tuesday, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, and the Czech Republic decided to expel a number of Russian diplomats. Moscow stressed that such acts dealt a serious blow to bilateral relations and would not go unanswered.