Lavrov recalled that the West "in a fit of rage declared several dozen, even more than a hundred" employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry to be persona non grata.
“It is clear that the vast majority of them are very experienced, competent, capable diplomats, and their experience and knowledge will be applied.
And almost 95% of those who left have already been placed in new jobs,” he said.
On July 22, the Russian government expanded the list of unfriendly states to include Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia.
Getting on the list entails a decrease in the level of contacts, the Kremlin noted.
At the end of October, the Russian government added to the list of unfriendly countries and territories, it included 11 British Overseas Territories.