In a retaliatory move, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday declared persona non grata an employee of the Slovenian Embassy in Moscow, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

The ministry said in a statement it summoned Slovenian Ambassador Darja Bavdaz Kuret and conveyed to her a "strong protest" over the "groundless" expulsion of a Russian diplomat on March 21.

"We consider this another … unfriendly step in the context of the general course of Ljubljana towards the destruction of Russian-Slovenian ties," the ministry stressed.

The Russian diplomatic service emphasized that it holds Slovenia responsible "for the consequences of such a destructive policy."