Denmark announced it would expel 15 Russian intelligence officers from Denmark, contending that they had been working under diplomatic cover at the Russian Embassy in Copenhagen.
Today, a month later on the day, Russia responded in kind by expelling seven Danish diplomats from the Danish embassy in Moscow.
“The ambassador [Carsten Søndergård] was informed that, as a response, seven employees of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in the Russian Federation were declared persona non grata,” wrote the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to Russian news agency Tass.
“They must leave the country within two weeks. A visa was also denied to a diplomat of the Danish diplomatic mission.”
READ ALSO: Denmark expels 15 Russian intelligence officers
Søndergård chastised
Tass wrote that Søndergård had been summoned to the Russian diplomatic office today and condemned for Denmark expelling the 15 Russian diplomats last month.
He was also informed that “Copenhagen’s openly anti-Russian policy” is causing serious damage to bilateral relations.
According to Tass, the Kremlin said it reserved the right to take additional steps as a reaction to ‘unfriendly actions’ by Denmark.