Russia expels 45 Polish, 2 Bulgarian diplomats in retaliatory move

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia on Friday announced expulsion of 45 Polish and two Bulgarian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a written statement that Polish diplomats were declared persona non grata in response to the expulsion of 45 Russian diplomats from Poland on March 23.

"On April 8, Polish ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, a decisive protest was expressed to him about ungrounded expulsion on March 23 this year of 45 employees of the Russian foreign bodies in the Republic of Poland.

"The ambassador was told that we regard such a step as a confirmation of Warsaw's conscious desire to finally destroy bilateral relations. The responsibility for this lies entirely with the Polish side," the ministry said.

It added that the expelled employees of the Polish Embassy in Moscow and consulates general in Saint Petersburg, Irkutsk and Kaliningrad must leave Russia before the end of April 13.

In a separate statement, the ministry said it also declared two Bulgarian diplomats persona non grata in response to the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Sofia earlier in March, with no further details released.