Russia has declared a senior Czech diplomat "persona non grata" and ordered him to leave the country before the end of the day on April 16, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Czech Ambassador to Russia Vitezslav Pivonka was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday and was handed a note informing him of the decision, the statement said, adding that the move was made in response to the expulsion of a diplomat working at the Russian Embassy in Prague.