Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia expel several Russian diplomats

VILNIUS/RIGA/TALLINN. March 18 (Interfax/BNS) - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have decided to expel several Russian diplomats: Lithuania has declared four Russian diplomats personae non gratae, while Latvia and Estonia three diplomats each.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Lithuania made this decision to show solidarity with Ukraine.

A note declaring four staff members of the Russian embassy personae non gratae for activities inconsistent with their diplomatic status has been presented to Russian Ambassador Alexei Isakov.

The diplomats in question have been told to leave Lithuania within five days.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics has made a decision to expel three employees of the Russian embassy from the country.

The expulsion of the Russian diplomats "has been coordinated with Lithuania and Estonia," Rinkevics wrote on Twitter.

The Latvian Foreign Ministry said that "the minister's decision was made in solidarity with Ukraine."

The Estonian Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the Russian ambassador and presented him with a diplomatic note declaring three Russian embassy officials with diplomatic status personae non gratae, the ministry said.

Undersecretary for Political Affairs Rein Tammsaar, who presented the note to the Russian ambassador, told him that the staff members' actions were in breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and therefore, they must leave Estonia within 72 hours, it said.

"All three have directly and actively undermined Estonia's security and spread propaganda justifying Russia's military action," it said.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Russia would respond to the expulsion of its diplomats from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Bulgaria.

"An appropriate response will be given to all groundless expulsions of Russian diplomats," Zakharova said on Telegram on Friday.