MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a resolute protest to Moldova’s Charge d’Affaires Sergiu Goncerenco over Chisinau’s decision to expel Vitaly Denisov, head of the Sputnik Moldova news agency, as Moscow pledged a response.

"Russia views this move as part of the anti-Russian campaign which is going on in Chisinau," the Russian diplomatic agency said in a statement as it threatened an appropriate response to what it said was "yet another unfriendly step" by Moldova.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow "demanded that Moldova stop the politically motivated persecution of Russian-language media and comply with its international obligations in the field of ensuring the freedom of speech and media and the rights of journalists."

Moldovan immigration officers placed Denisov in a car on Wednesday morning, preventing him from packing his bags or taking his pets with him, and then transported him to the airport with an order that he be deported via the first available flight. He has been banned from re-entering Moldova for 10 years. The deportation order noted that Russian Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov had been informed about the incident.