Russia expels Slovenian embassy employee, summons French envoy

Russia declared one employee of the Embassy of Slovenia a "persona non grata" as a retaliatory move after Ljubljana expelled a Russian diplomat, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday, reported Xinhua.

On Friday morning, the ministry summoned the Slovenian Ambassador to Russia Darja Bavdaz Kuret to lodge a protest regarding "the groundless deprivation of accreditation" of a Russian embassy employee in Slovenia, the ministry said in a statement.

"We consider this another openly unfriendly step in the context of Ljubljana's general course towards destroying Russian-Slovenian ties. Responsibility for the consequences of such a destructive policy lies entirely with the Slovenian side," the statement read.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned French Ambassador to Russia Pierre Levy over comments by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stephane Sejourne.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sejourne said that France was not interested in dialogue with Russia as statements from Russian officials allegedly contained false information.

Such remarks are unacceptable and detached from reality, the ministry said in a statement.

Russia regards these remarks as a conscious and thoughtful action of the French side, aimed at undermining the very possibility of any dialogue between the two countries, the statement said.