Russia expels three Slovak diplomats

On Monday, the Slovak Ambassador to Russia Peter Priputen was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. On this occasion, he was told that three Slovak diplomats must leave Russia. According to the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, it comes as a reaction to the expulsion of three Russian diplomats from Slovakia earlier this August. According to the media, they worked for the Russian secret services and were dismissed also in connection with last year's murder of Chechen Zelimchan Changoshvili in Berlin. Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated already on 11 August that Bratislava had acted under the influence of the United States. The Slovak ministry views their expulsion as "a move running counter to the traditional spirit of constructive relations between the two countries".