MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. Russia has declared five diplomats from the Embassy of Croatia in Moscow personae non gratae citing reciprocal measures, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"In response to Zagreb’s earlier unfriendly steps to cut the diplomatic staff of the Russian Embassy, [Croatian] Ambassador Tomislav Tsar was handed today a note declaring five diplomats of the Croatian Embassy in Moscow personae non gratae," the statement reads.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also stated that the head of the Croatian diplomatic mission in Moscow was "handed a resolute protest in regard to ungrounded efforts of the authorities of Croatia to shift the blame on Russia for war crimes in Ukraine and for the Croatian assistance to neo-Nazi regime in Kiev."
The Foreign Ministry of Croatia announced on April 11 that 24 diplomats of the Russian Embassy in Zagreb were subjected to the expulsion from the country, citing Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
Following the statement of the Croatian ministry, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed the expulsion of the diplomats as an "anti-Russian step" and stressed that responsibility for its consequences would "rest entirely on the Croatian side."
Russia’s military operation
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.
Russian President Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.
After that, the United States, the EU and some other countries announced that they were imposing sanctions against Russian individuals and businesses.