July 22 (UPI) -- The Russian government on Friday added several countries to its "unfriendly" list for supposedly committing "acts against" Moscow's diplomatic and consular missions and being hostile to Russian companies and citizens.
The "unfriendly" list was created in March after Russia began its war with Ukraine, and the registry forces the blacklisted nations to limit their staffs at their respective embassies in Russia.
On Friday, officials said that five more countries have been added to the list -- Greece, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia.
Nearly two dozen countries were already on the list -- including the United States, Britain, Ukraine, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea.
Appearing on the "unfriendly" list also restricts entry into Russia for travelers of the blacklisted countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin came up with the list to punish countries that issued sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war.
"The list ... specifies the number of individuals in Russia, with whom diplomatic missions of unfriendly countries and their consular offices may conclude employment contracts," the Kremlin said according to the state-run TASS news agency.
Greece now has a limit of 34 employees at its embassy in Russia; Denmark's is 20 and Slovakia's is 16. The decree says Slovenia and Croatia can't hire employees for their diplomatic missions and consular institutions from Russia.
"The ambassador was handed a note, notifying that asa response measure, eight Greek diplomats were declared 'persona non grata,'" Greece's foreign ministry said according to the Greek Reporter.
Greece said it has summoned its ambassador to Russia Ekaterini Nassika.
