“Thanks to our efforts, the first secretary of the embassy in Qatar has returned home,” Lavrov said

DOHA, March 24 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Qatar has expelled Wednesday, March 24, the first secretary at the Russian embassy amid a spat over the murder of a former Chechen president in the Gulf state.

Doha has earlier given Alexander Fetisov 24 hours to leave the county, declaring him a persona non-grata, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

A Qatari foreign ministry said Moscow had been notified on Tuesday, March 23, giving no explanation for the move.

Fetisov had been detained in Doha last month along with the two security agents in the immediate aftermath of the murder of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, but his diplomatic status saw him released.

“The first secretary has received authorization to leave Doha after the diplomatic efforts made over recent days," Russian ambassador Victor Koudryavtsev told AFP. 

In Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would keep pressing Qatar to release its two agents.

“Thanks to our efforts, the first secretary of the embassy in Qatar has returned home,” Lavrov told reporters. "All efforts are being made in order that the other two Russians detained in Qatar return as well.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov revealed that the two agents had been posted to the Russian embassy in Qatar to help in the “fight against terrorism”, in particular terror financing.”

Qatar's expulsion announcement was made just hours after the return to Doha of two Qatari nationals who were released by Moscow on Tuesday.

“The Russian authorities have freed from detention the two Qatari nationals, Nasser Ibrahim Saad Al-Madhihiki and Ibrahim Ahmad Nasser Ahmed, who left Moscow Tuesday night en route for Doha,” the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said.

He noted that their release came “in the absence of any evidence that the two Qataris had broken the law” in Russia.

The two members of the Gulf state's wrestling federation were arrested in transit at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on February 26 on suspicion of carrying undeclared foreign currency.

This followed Doha's arrest of two Russian intelligence agents alleged to have murdered the 51-year-old Chechen leader and badly wounded his son when their car blew up after performing Friday prayers on February 13.