CHISINAU, September 14. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy said it sent a diplomatic note of protest to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry over the expulsion from the country of Vitaly Denisov, the chief of the Moldovan office of the Sputnik news agency.

"A note of protest was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova on September 13," the embassy said on Telegram.

It said the "egregious" incident will not be ignored.

On Wednesday morning, Moldovan immigration officials put Denisov in a car and took him to the airport, after presenting him with an order for deportation on the first available flight. He wasn’t given a chance to pack his bags or take his pets. Denisov was also banned from entering Moldova for 10 years. The immigration service later said that Denisov was deemed a threat to the country's information security.

The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that Moldova stop politically motivated persecution of Russian-language media and comply with international commitments in the area of freedom of speech.