Russia has expelled a Ukrainian diplomat, Consul Ihor Fedikevych, who worked for the Consulate in St. Petersburg, in response to an analogous step by Kiev.
"We confirm the expulsion of the Ukrainian diplomat as a counter-measure," a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told Interfax on Sept.1.
A source in Kiev's diplomatic circles told Interfax earlier on Tuesday that Russia expelled a Ukrainian diplomat.
"Consul Ihor Fedikevich, who worked for the Ukrainian Consulate in St. Petersburg, was expelled from Russia on Aug.25," he said. The move came as a response to the expulsion of a staff member from the Russian Consulate in Odessa, the source said.
The Russian acting consul in Odessa, Valery Shibeko, was expelled from Ukraine in July. According to Ukrainian Security Service chief Vasyl Hrytsak, "the decision was made due to his activities being incompatible with a diplomatic one, as well as a violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention."
For his part, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said at the time that Russia will take "the necessary counter-measures, as is customary in diplomatic practice."
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