Expulsion of Irish diplomat unjustified, says Coveney

The expulsion of an Irish diplomat from Russia has been described as regrettable and unjustified by the Tánaiste.

The diplomat was told to leave Moscow amid growing tensions between Russia and the EU over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the UK.

The expulsion has been seen as an act of retaliation after the Irish government this week ordered a Russian diplomat based in the embassy in Dublin to leave.