CHISINAU, August 18. /TASS/. Russia has notified Moldovan Ambassador to Russian Lilian Darii about an entry ban for several lawmakers with Moldova’s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity in response to the Moldovan side’s demand that Russia reduce its embassy personnel, the Free Europe portal (a division of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which is recognized as a foreign agent mass media) said on Friday, citing its sources in the Moldovan foreign ministry.

According to the portal, twenty Moldovan nationals, including 18 lawmakers with the Party of Action and Solidarity, as well as Executive Director of the Association of Independent Press Petru Macovei and deputy chief of the Border Police Oleg Bucataru, have been banned from entering Russia.

Darii was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry earlier on Friday where he was informed of Moscow’s decision to ban entry to a number of Moldovan officials in response to Chisinau’s move to drastically reduce the number of Russian diplomats in Moldova.

On Monday, forty-five Russian embassy employees left Chisinau. The Moldovan side demanded that Russia reduce the number of its embassy’s employees to ten diplomats and 15 administrative and technical employees, to bring them to parity with the employees of the Moldovan embassy in Moscow. Chisinau motivated this step by allegedly numerous unfriendly actions and Russia’s attempts to destabilize the political situation in Moldova.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov noted that Moldova’s decision to reduce Russia’ diplomatic presence is the continuation of the unfriendly policy of the republic’s current leadership. He stressed that such steps are never left unanswered according diplomatic rules.