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The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Spanish ambassador in Moscow to inform

him of the list of diplomats and staff of the Spanish delegation who will be expelled from the country

.

It is yet another chapter in the Russian response to the expulsions of Russian diplomats that have been taking place since April in different European countries.



On April 5, the Spanish government announced that it was expelling 25 diplomats and other personnel from the Russian Embassy in Madrid, considering that they represented

"a threat to the security" of Spain

.

It was also a sign of rejection of the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine.

Since then, the Spanish embassy feared the response of the Russian government.

Already at the time the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry,

Maria Zajarova,

warned that "there would be the corresponding reaction."

Russia summons the Spanish ambassador to Moscow



The news came first thing in the morning.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned the Spanish ambassador in Moscow,

Marcos Gómez Martínez

, to announce the measures regarding the Spanish legation.



The call comes one day after Russia decided to expel two Finnish diplomats in response to the declaration of persona 'non grata' by Finland -also last April- of two members of the Russian Embassy.



In a recent parliamentary response, the Spanish government had indicated that it was "aware" of the possibility of the expulsion of diplomatic personnel and

assured that it was prepared "for such an eventuality

, in addition to maintaining close contact and coordination with its European partners".



The French ambassador to Russia,

Pierre Levy

, was also summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday morning. The ambassador is expected to be briefed on the expulsion of

some 40 French diplomats from Russia

in response to a similar move by France. In April, employees of the Russian diplomatic mission were expelled from Paris. The Russian embassy protested, with Moscow promising a "symmetrical response."

Today it has been The Italian ambassador was also summoned for the same reason.



Russia has already decided to close the consulates of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in the cities of Saint Petersburg and Pskov.

In April, Moscow announced the expulsion of employees from the Belgian and Japanese embassies.



The expulsion of employees of Russian diplomatic missions has been carried out by countries such as Germany, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, the United States, Estonia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Japan.

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