Moscow expelled on Thursday Skopje's embassy attache in retaliation for North Macedonia's move to declare a Russian diplomat Persona Non-Grata last month.
Skopje’s Foreign Ministry said its acting ambassador to Russia Olivera Causevska-Dimovska was summoned to the Russin Foreign Ministry and told her country attache was declared Persona Non-Grata.
North Macedonia’s Ministry said it regretted the move describing it as an „unfounded political decision based on political revenge, which will negatively affect bilateral relations.“
Skopje expelled a Russian diplomat in mid-May, saying he was dealing „with undiplomatic issues,“ and Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said he hoped Moscow would not retaliate and reduce North Macedonia’s embassy to a single person.
In 2018, Skopje also expelled a Russian diplomat in solidarity with the UK, NATO and EU over a former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal poisoning.