Russia expels seven members of Danish embassy
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Moscow said Thursday that seven members of Denmark's embassy in Russia have been declared persona non grata and had two weeks to leave Russia.
Russia's foreign ministry said it summoned Danish Ambassador Carsten Sondergaard to inform him of the retaliatory measures following the expulsion of 15 Russian diplomats from Denmark and the country's military aid to Kyiv.
"The kingdom's openly anti-Russian policies cause serious damage to bilateral ties," the foreign ministry in Moscow said in a statement.
Russia reserves the right "to take additional steps in response to Copenhagen's unfriendly actions," the statement said, adding that a diplomat of the Danish mission was also refused a visa as part of the retaliatory measures.
The Danish foreign ministry said that Russia was expelling seven members of its diplomatic mission including four diplomats.
In a statement to AFP, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod called the move "a totally unjustified and deeply problematic decision".
"Russia no longer wants real dialogue and diplomacy," he said, noting that Denmark had in fact expelled Russian intelligence agents and not diplomats.
Since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, the West has expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and Russia retaliated in tit-for-tat moves.