Russia expels North Macedonian diplomat in retaliation for the same move from Skopje last month, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

In a statement on its website, the ministry said it is a response to the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Skopje in May. A related notifying note was handed to North Macedonian charge d'affaires to Russia Olivera Chaushevska-Dimovska, the statement added.

On May 14, the Foreign Ministry of North Macedonia handed the Russian ambassador to the country Sergey Bazdnikin a diplomatic note, ordering the expulsion of a Russian diplomat within seven days.

Skopje did not explain the motive of the Russian diplomat's expulsion, supposedly it was done to show solidarity with the Czech Republic that accused Russia of involvement in the 2014 explosions at military warehouses in the town of Vrbetice in the Czech Republic, which left two people dead.

Russia protested the decision, terming it "unfounded." It recalled that earlier, Czech authorities had investigated the case and found the companies that owned the warehouses guilty.

The countries then exchanged diplomat expulsions, while Prague was supported by a number of countries including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia.