Moscow warns Romania over diplomat expulsion

The foreign ministry in Moscow issued a statement Wednesday (August 18th) criticising Romania’s tit-for-tat move to expel a Russian diplomat. “We express a determined protest to the Romanian side, which has taken on itself full responsibility for the possible consequences. We reserve the right to take measures in response,” the statement said, adding that Moscow sees the move as “an unfriendly and unprovoked step”. Romania announced on Tuesday that it had declared a Russian diplomat a persona non grata and has told him to leave the country within 48 hours. The official is a first secretary-level diplomat at the Russian Embassy in Bucharest. The move came a day after the Federal Security Service in Moscow announced the arrest of Romanian diplomat Gabriel Grecu for suspected of spying.