Kosovo expels two Russian diplomats

Pristina: Two Russian diplomats left Kosovo on Sunday after Pristina alleged they had endangered national security, a move Moscow labelled a gross provocation, state-run television reported.

The foreign ministry declared the pair persona non grata on the orders of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani "because of harmful activities that risk endangering national security", she said on Friday.

Kosovo institutions are "determined to fight the malignant influence of the Russian Federation and its proxies in the region," she tweeted. Russia’s foreign ministry on Saturday called the move a "gross anti-Russian provocation" directed "against Russia and its constructive role in the Balkans".

In a statement it called on the UN mission in the former Serbian province to ensure "reliable security and the necessary conditions" for its personnel in Pristina. Neither Osmani nor the foreign ministry disclosed the identities of the two diplomats.

Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) on Saturday broadcast photos of the two diplomats leaving the premises of Russia’s liaison office in Pristina and afterwards of their car crossing the border with Serbia.

It identified the two as Denis Vengerskii and Alexey Krivosheev and said their activities "incompatible with diplomatic status" were spotted by Kosovo’s Intelligence Agency (AKI).