President Aliyev and Macron in Paris in 2012

France has decided to expel two employees of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Paris, after Baku took a similar step this week against two employees working in France’s embassy in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that two French diplomats had been ordered to leave the country over actions “incompatible with their diplomatic status.”

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it had summoned French ambassador Anne Boillon to voice a “strong protest over the actions of two employees of the French Embassy.”

“France has taken note of the decision taken by Azerbaijan to declare two members of the French Embassy in Azerbaijan persona non grata. It categorically rejects the allegations presented by Azerbaijan to justify its decision,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday in response to Baku’s actions.

“As a reciprocal measure, France has declared two employees of the Azerbaijani Embassy in France persona non grata,” the French Foreign Ministry said, adding that Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to France was summoned and was officially informed of the decision.