The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia ordered the ambassador of Latvia to leave the territory of the Russian Federation within two weeks, Russian media reports.

The announcement of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that Latvia has previously decided to reduce the level of diplomatic relations with Russia.

Emphasizing that Latvia made this decision out of solidarity with the other Baltic countries and that this reason is not accepted by Russia, Moscow said today that this solidarity means taking hostile steps towards Russia, directed by the United States.

The announcement also emphasizes that all responsibility for the current situation belongs to the Latvian government.

"The Latvian ambassador in Moscow, Maris Riekstins, has been asked to leave Russia within two weeks. The provocative moves of the Latvian authorities to reduce the level of diplomatic relations will have consequences", the statement of the Russian MFA states.