According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the expulsion of an Albanian diplomat is in response to Albania ousting a Russian diplomat for allegedly violating coronavirus measures on 21 January 2021.
Russia has expelled an Albanian diplomat in a ‘tit-for-tat’ move, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday, Sputnik reports.
According to the ministry, Albania’s envoy to Russia was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and told that an Albanian embassy secretary has been declared a persona non grata.
The diplomat must now leave Russia within 72 hours.
This comes several weeks after Albania accused a Russian diplomat of repeatedly violating COVID-related restrictions and subsequently declared him a persona non grata. Moscow said it would respond to the “unfriendly move,” which it views as a provocation aimed at damaging bilateral relations between the two countries.
