Moscow to Respond to North Macedonian Expulsion of Russian Diplomats, Foreign Ministry Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia considers the expulsion of its diplomats from North Macedonia unjustified and will react accordingly, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Six diplomats of the Russian embassy in North Macedonia were declared personae non gratae on Friday.

"The North Macedonian authorities continue to follow the lead of the West in its Russophobic frenzy by unwinding the spiral of destruction of bilateral relations. This yet another unmotivated step against our employees will inevitably have long-term negative consequences for Russian-North Macedonian cooperation. Clearly, this cannot be in the interests of the people of Northern Macedonia. Responsibility for such actions and their destructive consequences rests fully with Skopje," Zakharova said.

She concluded the statement by saying that "a reaction will follow."

Mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from European countries has continued for the past two weeks. Russia has responded reciprocally only in some of the cases.