File photo: Xinhua
Earlier, the Colombian Foreign Ministry said that two Russian diplomats had to leave Colombia due to non-compliance with the Vienna Convention, but the Latin American country was determined to maintain good relations with Moscow.
Russia has declared personae non gratae two employees of the Colombian embassy, responding to a similar step by Bogota, the foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.
"On 22 December, Colombia's ... ambassador to Russia A. [Alfonzo] Lopez Caballero was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry to hear protest over the Colombian side's baseless decision to expel two diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Bogota. This step is not in line with the traditionally friendly and respectful relations between Russia and Colombia ... The ambassador was told that the Russian side, which is guided by the principle of reciprocity, declares personae non gratae two staffers of Colombia's diplomatic mission in Moscow," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the Tiempo newspaper reported, citing sources in the Colombian government, that two Russian diplomats were expelled over suspected intelligence activities.
In turn, Russia has more than once called accusations of interference in the internal affairs of other states unsubstantiated.