Foreign Ministry warned Montenegro of a response after the expulsion of a Russian diplomat

Montenegro’s decision to declare a Russian diplomat persona non grata has no reason or logic, and Russia can take retaliatory measures in accordance with generally accepted practice, stated Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

“On August 12, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro announced the persona non grata of a diplomatic officer of the Russian Embassy in Podgorica. An attempt to substantiate this step in the accompanying public commentary revealed the absence of reasons and logic for this demarche, ”Zakharova said in a comment published on the embassy website.

The Russian Foreign Ministry considers “the attack by the Montenegrin authorities as another episode of the hybrid campaign unleashed by the West and its satellites against Russia.”

“We see in this the unwillingness and inability of the official Podgorica to move away from the policy of mechanically following such a destructive line – to the detriment of international security and cooperation, as well as its own national interests,” the ministry said in a statement. Zakharova noted that Moscow reserves the right to retaliate in accordance with generally accepted practice.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro on Friday announced persona non grata of a Russian diplomat. The corresponding note about this decision was handed over to the Russian Ambassador Vladislav Maslennikov, the department of the republic reported. The note indicated a seven-day period in order to leave the territory of Montenegro.

On April 7, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro declared four Russian diplomats persona non grata. The department then explained that the decision was made on the basis of an assessment by security agencies in Montenegro of the actions of Russian diplomats and Article 9 of the Vienna Convention.

After that, the Russian ambassador in Podgorica, Vladislav Maslennikov, admitted the possibility of Moscow’s asymmetric response to the expulsion of diplomatic staff, which is an “unfriendly step.” At the end of May, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of the Montenegrin diplomat.

The authorities of Western countries began to massively expel Russian diplomats from their capitals after the start of a special operation in Ukraine. The Baltic countries have announced the closure of their consulates in Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry responded by announcing the expulsion from Moscow of diplomats from the EU, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, etc.