Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it was expelling Romania’s military attache and his deputy in a retaliatory move against the country.
Romania said in March that it would expel two Russian diplomats over allegations of “interference”; in the country’s politics amid tensions over an annulled presidential election.
Romanian authorities threw out the results of the first round of last year’s presidential vote after little-known NATO and EU critic, Calin Georgescu unexpectedly topped the polls, sparking allegations that Russia had backed a major social media campaign in his favor.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement said it had summoned Romania’s charge d’affaires in Moscow and declared both the defense attache and his deputy at the Romanian diplomatic mission “persona non grata.”;
“The measure is a response to the Romanian side’s earlier unjustified decision to declare the military attache and his assistant at the Russian Embassy in Bucharest ‘persona non grata,’”; the ministry said in a statement.
DAILY POST reports that Russia and Western countries have routinely expelled each other’s diplomats in recent years, often citing accusations of espionage and political interference.
