MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. Russia as a retaliatory measure declares persona non grata an employee of the Austrian embassy, who is ordered to leave the territory of Russia by the end of the day on April 18, the Foreign Ministry said.

"On April 11, Austrian Ambassador to Moscow Werner Almhofer was summoned to the Foreign Ministry. The Russian diplomats strongly protested against the Austrian side's unjustified declaration of two employees of the Russian Embassy in Austria as persona non grata," the ministry said.

"The ambassador was handed a note with the message that the Russian side, as a retaliatory measure, declares an employee of the Austrian embassy in Russia persona non grata. He must leave Russian territory by the end of the day on April 18. This is not the end of our retaliatory measures," the ministry emphasized.

The Russian side pointed out that the corresponding unfriendly step of Austria "further aggravates bilateral relations, which are in crisis on the initiative of the Austrian side" and "causes serious damage to the authority of Austria, which has positioned itself as a neutral state and a platform for international diplomacy."