UPDATE - Russia declares 2 German diplomats persona non grata

UPDATES WITH EXPULSION OF 2 GERMAN DIPLOMATS, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - In a tit-for-tat, Russia on Thursday declared two German diplomats persona non grata.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the employees of the German embassy in Russia have been asked to leave the country within a week.

Earlier, German Ambassador Géza Andreas von Geyr was summoned to the ministry over expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Germany.

Last week, the Russian diplomats were expelled for Moscow's alleged role in the murder of 40-year-old Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin. Russia has rejected the allegation, calling it “baseless.”

Khangoshvili fought against Russian army during the Second Chechen War from 1999 to 2009, and worked in both Georgia and Ukraine against Russian interests, according to local media.