ZAGREB, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Croatia announced on Monday to expel 18 Russian diplomats and six members of administrative and technical staff because of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has informed the Russian ambassador to Croatia about the reduction in the number of diplomatic, administrative and technical staff of the Russian embassy in Zagreb.
"It was requested that 18 diplomats and six members of the administrative and technical staff of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Croatia leave the Republic of Croatia," the ministry said in a statement.
Croatia has thus joined Poland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and other European countries to expel Russian diplomats, the statement said, calling for "an urgent cessation of military activities and the withdrawal of Russian troops from the entire territory of Ukraine, as well as the urgent provision of evacuation routes for the population and the delivery of humanitarian aid." ■
