Canada has ordered a Russian military attache to leave the country in retaliation for Moscow's expulsion of a Canadian diplomat over the Crimea crisis, a news report said.
Lieutenant Colonel Yury Bezler, an assistant military attache at Russia's embassy in Ottawa, has been told to leave Canada within two weeks, CBC News reported Wednesday, citing unidentified officials. Bezler is one of the three defense attaches listed on the embassy website.
Earlier, Russia had told a diplomat at the Canadian Embassy in Moscow that he was no longer welcome, after Canada denied visas to a handful of Russian diplomats over doubts that they were not filling the roles they claimed, the unidentified officials said.
Canada last month recalled its ambassador to Moscow, John Kur, for consultations amid Russia's interference in Crimea, but he returned to his post last Friday, Canada's foreign affairs department said.
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