Moscow responds to Bucharest with expulsion of two Romanian diplomats

Russia has expelled two Romanian diplomats in response to Bucharest’s earlier decision to declare two Russian embassy staff as personae non gratae, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday, April 9, as reported by TASS.

The Romanian diplomats, identified as the defense attaché in Moscow and his deputy, were informed of their expulsion after Romania’s charge d’affaires, Liliana Burda, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.

According to the statement, the move is a response to what Russia described as Romania’s “unfounded” decision in early March to expel the Russian military attaché and his assistant from Bucharest. At the time, Romanian authorities accused the two Russian officials of engaging in activities that violated the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Russia has dismissed the accusations and criticized Romania’s actions as politically motivated. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Romanian authorities of attempting to deflect attention from a domestic political crisis by blaming Russia.

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