Belarus expels Czech diplomat in tit-for-tat move

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Belarus' foreign ministry said on Friday that it had ordered a Czech diplomat to leave the country and summoned a senior Polish diplomat for a meeting, after both countries expelled Belarusian diplomatic staff.

The Czech Republic and Poland this month expelled Belarusian diplomats for espionage. Poland also arrested another person it alleged was a Belarusian spy.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine, has been under Western sanctions since Minsk cracked down on protests against the 2020 election, in which official results gave longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko a victory not recognised by the opposition or most Western countries.

In a statement, the ministry said the expulsion was "the result of years of cultivated bias against Belarus by the Czech authorities."

Belarus this month hosted major military exercises with the participation of Russian forces.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Gleb Bryanski)

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