MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. The expulsion of Russian diplomats from European countries will lead to retaliatory measures, but this is another step towards the degradation of relations between the countries, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The assessment here is obvious - everything has deteriorated to the possible minimum," the Kremlin spokesman told reporters on Thursday when asked to assess the consequences of the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from European countries. In his opinion, "any such step as another expulsion of diplomats narrows the basis for continued diplomatic relations as such de facto and certainly cannot remain without some reciprocity."

"This is another step that provokes further degradation of our relations," Peskov pointed out.

A wave of mass expulsions of Russian diplomats began in 2022. The most recent case is the expulsion of diplomats from Germany and Sweden.

On April 25, it was reported that Sweden expelled five Russian diplomats, adding up to those three Russian diplomats expelled in April 2022. On April 22, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS that the German authorities had made a decision on the next mass expulsion of employees of the Russian diplomatic missions. The Foreign Ministry added that Berlin was working on the destruction of bilateral relations.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that more than 20 German diplomats would be expelled from Moscow in retailation to Berlin's actions. In turn, the newspaper Bild, citing sources, said that 34 of about 90 German diplomats working in Russia had to leave the country.