Four Eastern European countries are ordering the expulsion of Russian diplomats amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. A total of 20 Russian diplomats have been declared persona non grata by Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Bulgaria, and are being asked to leave their respective host countries.The three Baltic countries ordered the expulsion of Russian embassy staff members in a coordinated action taken in solidarity with Ukraine.Lithuania’s foreign ministry said on Friday that four Russian embassy staff are no longer welcome in the country, while in neighboring Latvia, three Russian staff were given the same treatment.Russia’s ambassador to Lithuania, Aleksei Isakov, was informed that his activities were incompatible with the status of a diplomat, according to the official statement of the Lithuanian foreign ministry.“Lithuania has made such a decision in solidarity with Ukraine, which is experiencing unprecedented Russian military aggression,” the statement reads.The Latvian foreign minister, Edgars Rinkevics, said that the expulsion of the embassy staff was a coordinated action of the Baltic states, which include former Soviet republics Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Estonia also announced on Friday that it was ordering three staff of the Russian Embassy in the capital Tallinn to leave the country.Further south, in the Balkans, Bulgaria says it has declared 10 Russian diplomats persona non grata and demanded their expulsion.In a statement on Friday, Bulgaria’s foreign ministry said that Bulgaria’s prime minister, Kiril Petkov, had been consulted on the expulsions.An official note was handed to Russia’s ambassador in the capital Sofia requiring that the diplomats leave Bulgaria within 72 hours over their alleged involvement in “activities incompatible with their diplomatic status,” the statement said.EU and NATO member Bulgaria, which was one of Moscow’s closest allies in the Soviet bloc, has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has expelled 10 other Russian diplomats suspected of espionage since October 2019.Associated Press reports from VILNIUS and SOFIA
