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Moscow reserves right to respond to Romania’s expulsion of Russian diplomat — envoy

The ambassador stressed that Bucharest was "carefully avoiding" comments on the matter
Russian Embassy in Romania Nikolai Morozov/TASS
Russian Embassy in Romania
© Nikolai Morozov/TASS

BUCHAREST, April 26. /TASS/. Moscow views Bucharest’s decision to expel a Russian diplomat as unfriendly and reserves the right to "take relevant measures in response," Russian Ambassador to Romania Valery Kuzmin told TASS on Monday.

"This decision is undeniably an unfriendly one and does not improve international relations between Russia and Romania," the ambassador said. "In accordance with the Vienna convention, Russian authorities reserve the right to take relevant measures in response."

He confirmed that he had been summoned to the Romanian Foreign Ministry where he was told that an aide to the military attache of the Russian Embassy in Romania was expelled. "The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations does not require that reasons for such demarches are explained; Romanian diplomats were carefully avoiding any comments," Kuzmin stressed.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that an aide to the military attache of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest was declared persona non grata. The diplomatic agency claims that his activities "run counter to provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."