Russia decides to expel 1 Finnish diplomat

The Russian authorities decided to expel one Finnish diplomat from the country as a part of their expulsion move.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday informed ambassadors of 23 countries including Finland of its decision to expel employees of their diplomatic missions in Russia in a tit-for-tat response to the recent hostile actions by their countries against Moscow.

Ambassador of Finland to Russia Mikko Hautala, was notified of the matter by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian on 30 March in Moscow, said a press release issued by the Finnish Foreign Ministry.

Russia has announced corresponding measures also against many other countries that have expelled Russian diplomats, said the press release.

The expulsion of the Finnish diplomat is Russia's response to the decision of Finland, made on Monday 26 March, to expel one official with a diplomatic status from the Embassy of Russia in Helsinki following the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

“Russia's decision is not related to the activities of the Finnish diplomat. The Finnish diplomat must leave Russia within two weeks,” the press release added.

The Finnish diplomat was asked to leave Russia within two weeks.

The Finnish authority said that the envoy has been working in the Finnish embassy in Moscow but did not disclose the identity.

Earlier, on March 26, Finland decided to expel a Russian diplomat who works in the Russian Embassy in Helsinki following Salisbury nerve agent attack.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the President and Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy.

Expulsion decisions fall under the competence of national authorities, and each Member State acts based on its own analysis of the situation.