Russia expels Romanian diplomat in tit-for-tat move

Russia on Thursday announced that it had expelled a Romanian diplomat serving at the country’s embassy in Moscow in response to a similar move by Bucharest last month to expel a Russian embassy staffer over alleged drone incursions.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the decision to expel the Romanian diplomat was presented in a note to Bucharest’s charge d’affaires in Moscow, who was summoned to the ministry.

It called the measure a response to Romania’s earlier “unjustified” decision to declare an employee of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest persona non grata.

Last month, Romania summoned Russia’s ambassador in Bucharest in response to what it described as repeated violations of Romania’s airspace on July 24-26, during which three drones that entered the country’s airspace were downed.

According to a Romanian Foreign Ministry statement, the Russian ambassador was presented with fragments of a drone “confirmed to be of Russian origin.”

The statement said Romania expressed “firm protest against these illegal and irresponsible actions,” accusing Russia of violating its airspace and bearing “responsibility for … the deterioration of the regional security environment.”

It went on to say that an official note was presented to the Russian diplomat about the decision to declare a member of Russia’s embassy “undesirable,” adding that the Foreign Ministry also recalled its ambassador in Moscow for consultations.

At the time, Moscow denied Bucharest's accusations and vowed an appropriate response.