Russia ordered the expulsion Wednesday of seven diplomats from Slovakia and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in response to the expulsion of Russian Embassy personnel.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry ordered seven diplomats from the four countries to leave Moscow within one week.
Russia said the countries have displayed “pseudo-solidarity” with the Czech Republic, which last week ordered the expulsion of most Russian diplomatic staffers.
The Czech Republic had alleged that Russian spies were involved in a 2014 explosion at an ammunition depot, a charge Moscow has denied.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, among Russia’s harshest critics, broke away from the Soviet Union and became members of the European Union and NATO in 2004.
Poland expelled three Russian diplomats earlier this month in support of the United States, which ordered the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats about two weeks ago for meddling in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and for participating in the SolarWind hack on U.S. government computer networks.
Russia retaliated by ordering five Polish diplomats to leave the country.
