Lithuania expelled a senior Russian diplomat on Sunday for suspected spying, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported, quoting unnamed sources.

BNS reported that the sources said the Vilnius-based diplomat had been ordered to leave Lithuania on suspicion of espionage and for "seeking to influence Lithuania's determination to support Georgia amid its conflict with Moscow."

The Russian government was preparing to expel a Lithuanian diplomat in retaliation, the report said.

So far, neither countries have commented on the report.

The small Baltic state of Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union before gaining independence in 1991.

In 2004, Lithuania ordered out the Russian military attache and two other diplomats for alleged intelligence activities. Moscow retaliated by expelling the Lithuanian military attache.

Source: Xinhua