Russia has declared 10 representatives of the Norwegian embassy in Moscow and the defense attache's office unwelcome on its territory.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, on April 26, the ambassador of Norway, Robert Kwiele, was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They expressed a "strong protest" to him in connection with Oslo's decision to expel 15 diplomats from the Russian embassy in Norway and employees of the military attache's office.
"This hostile step further worsened the situation in bilateral relations, which are already at a critically low level," the Russian ministry said.
Quile was handed a note announcing in response that 10 representatives of the Norwegian Embassy in Moscow and the defense attache's office were declared persona non grata.
The Norwegian ambassador was also told about the introduction of restrictions on the hiring of personnel from among Russian citizens by Norwegian diplomatic missions.
On April 13, Norway declared 15 employees of the Russian Embassy in Norway as undesirable persons, who were actually engaged in espionage activities under diplomatic cover.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Anniken Huitfeldt, emphasized that Russia is now the biggest threat to Norway from the point of view of intelligence activities.
Norway's intelligence service said that Russian embassy staff were trying to recruit new informants, conduct radio intelligence and buy advanced technology.