Russia declares diplomats of Baltic countries' embassies personae non-gratae

After various European countries including the Baltic countries expelled Russian ambassadors due to Russia's unjustified attack on Ukraine, Moscow retaliated by announcing that all the workers of Baltic embassies, which includes Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be deemed personae non-gratae. As per the reports of Sputnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that it had summoned the ambassadors of Latvia and Estonia, as well as Lithuania's charge d'affaires, and handed them protest notes in response to these nations' unfriendly activities.

The Ministry issued a statement saying that the Russian Foreign Ministry had summoned Latvian Ambassador Maris Riekstins, Estonian Ambassador Margus Laidre, and Lithuanian Charge d'Affaires Virginija Umbrasiene on April 21. It also stated that the Russian Consulates General in Klaipeda, Liepaja, Daugavpils and Narva, as well as the chancellery of the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Estonia, have been strongly criticized by the heads of diplomatic missions.

Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian consulates in St. Petersburg have been closed

The Ministry further said that the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian consulates in St. Petersburg, as well as the Latvian consulate in Pskov, have all been closed. The Estonian Foreign Ministry announced earlier this month that the Russian consulate general in Narva and the Estonian embassy in Tartu would be closed. In retaliation, Latvia, on the other hand, closed Russian consulates in the cities of Liepaja and Daugavpils, while the Russian consulate in Klaipeda in Lithuania has also been closed.

Moscow's decision to deem the diplomatic workers of the Baltic countries personae non-gratae comes after a number of European countries expelled Russian diplomats in response to Russia's ongoing military campaign in Ukraine. Denmark, Italy, France, Sweden, Spain, and a slew of other countries have all expelled Russian envoys.

Russia declared 18 EU office personnel as personae non-gratae last week

In the meanwhile, last week, Russia declared 18 EU office personnel as personae non-gratae after the expulsion of its diplomats from the Permanent Mission to the European Union, according to TASS. Russian Foreign Ministry announced that in response to the European Union's hostile acts, 18 EU staffers in Russia have been deemed personae non-gratae and will be forced to leave the country soon. Markus Ederer, who is the head of the EU office in Moscow has received a corresponding note.