Russia has ordered a Slovenian diplomat to leave the country in a retaliatory move after Ljubljana expelled a Russian diplomat, Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on April 12. The ministry said it had also told the Slovenian ambassador that his country was responsible for what it called the "destruction of bilateral relations" between Russia and Slovenia. "We regard this openly unfriendly step in the context of Ljubljana’s general course toward the destruction of Russian-Slovenian ties," the statement said. Slovenia on March 21 expelled a Russian diplomat over "activities incompatible with the diplomatic status."