Russia bans entry to Montenegrin foreign minister, defense chief

The Russian Foreign Ministry notified the Montenegrin embassy in Moscow on Friday of an entry ban for Montenegro’s Foreign Minister Ranko Krivokapic and Defense Minister Rasko Konjevic as well as the republic’s former National Security Agency chief Savo Kentere.

The Russian diplomats said this was in response to what they called a "hostile decision" by the Montenegrin side in late September to declare diplomats of the Russian embassy in Podgorica personae non gratae.

On September 29, Montenegro declared six Russian envoys personae non gratae. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declared six diplomats of the embassy of the Russian Federation, accredited in Montenegro, as personae non gratae due to actions incompatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and relations of respect between the two countries," the Montenegrin Foreign Ministry said in a Twitter post.