Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevich said that Riga is expelling a Russian diplomat as a sign of solidarity with the Czech Republic.
“As a sign of solidarity with our Czech allies and in connection with violations of the Vienna Convention, Latvia has decided to expel a Russian diplomat. Latvia will not tolerate subversion either on its territory or on the territory of its partners and allies”, – Rinkevich wrote on Twitter.
Earlier, the Czech authorities accused the Russian special services of involvement in an explosion at an ammunition depot in the village of Vrbetitsa in 2014. In this regard, Prague expelled 18 Russian diplomats from the country. In response, Russia announced a persona non grata for 20 diplomatic missions from the Czech Republic. The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that the statements about the involvement of the Russian special services in the explosion in Vrbetica are absurd, unfounded and far-fetched.
According to RIA Novosti, Estonia and Lithuania also intend to expel Russian diplomats. The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the representative of the Russian Embassy in Lithuania and handed him a diplomatic note declaring the two embassy employees persona non grata.