The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declared 18 employees of the EU Delegation ‘persona non grata’ as a response to the “unfriendly actions” of the European Union.
On Friday, the ministry summoned the head of the Delegation of the European Union, Markus Ederer, to express his “strong objection” to the earlier “unjustified” expulsion of 19 employees of the Russian Permanent Mission to the EU and Euratom.
“The Russian side stated the EU was responsible for the consistent destruction of the architecture of bilateral dialogue and cooperation that has been created for decades,” the ministry said in a statement.
Ederer also was given a reminder of the necessity for the EU to obey the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
“As a response to the unfriendly actions of the European Union, 18 employees of the EU Delegation to Russia have been declared ‘persona non grata’ and will have to leave the territory of the Russian Federation in the near future,” the ministry said.