North Macedonia has ordered the expulsion of three additional Russian diplomats, the third such measure since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began last year, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Saturday.
The Russian Federation’s ambassador to Skopje, Sergei Bazdnikin, was summoned on September 12 and informed that three of his colleagues had been declared persona non grata and had to leave the country, the ministry said in a statement.
“Such a decision was adopted after receiving information from relevant institutions about activities carried out in contravention of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” the statement added.
The small Balkan country has already expelled Russian diplomats twice since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In March 2023, five Russian diplomats were expelled while a month later six others were ordered to leave.
In March 2020, the former Yugoslav republic became the last member of NATO and aspires to join the European Union.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, North Macedonia followed the EU’s lead in sanctioning Moscow, with officials in Skopje calling Russia a “hostile state.”