Vietnam denounced Slovakia’s move

Reuters agency informed on Thursday that Vietnam had denounced Slovakia's expulsion of one of its diplomats in a row over the abduction of a disgraced Vietnamese businessman via Slovakia in 2017, saying it was not in line with the "traditional friendship" between the two countries. On Wednesday, State Secretary Frantisek Ruzicka handed over a verbal note to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovakia Minh Trong Duong declaring one of the diplomats of the Vietnamese Embassy a persona non grata and asking him to leave Slovakia within 48 hours. Slovakia sought to distance itself from the abduction case after reports its state plane had been used in the kidnap. According to Reuters, Slovakia's foreign ministry said in a statement posted on its website late on Wednesday that it had "flagged strong diplomatic consequences if the very serious suspicions of abuse of Slovakia's hospitality were confirmed officially". It declined to comment further on the case. "We will consider measures appropriate to our bilateral relations, international law and practice," the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry said in a statement emailed to Reuters.