Russia has declared personae non gratae an unspecified number of employees from the diplomatic missions of Sweden, Poland, and Germany, saying they participated in protests to support opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on February 5 that the Swedish ambassador, the charge d'affaires of Poland, and the German envoy were summoned to the ministry where a protest was lodged with the diplomats in connection with the "recorded participation of diplomatic employees" in the rallies on January 23.
"Diplomats participating in illegal actions were declared 'persona non grata' in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961. They were ordered to leave the territory of the Russian Federation in the near future," the statement said.
