MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. Moldovan Ambassador to Moscow Lilian Darii was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday and taken to task over the expulsion of a Russian diplomat as well as against the fact that the Russian delegation had been barred from attending the session of the Regional Conference for Europe (ERC) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The Moldovan ambassador heard our protest following the Moldovan side’s unfounded decision of March 19 to declare persona non grata a staff member of Russia’s embassy to Chisinau as well as to ban the Russian delegation entry to Moldova in order to attend the 34th Session of the Regional Conference for Europe of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, scheduled for May 14-17 in Chisinau," the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said that Darii "was handed the ministry’s note stating that as a retaliatory measure to the expulsion of a staff member of Russia’s embassy to Chisinau, the Russian side declares persona non grata a staff member of Moldova’s embassy to Russia."

Furthermore, the Foreign Ministry emphasized that the Moldovan ambassador was also "notified that official Chisinau deliberately abuses its status as host country, blatantly politicizing the activity of the FAO."

"Such arrogation from the Moldovan authorities flagrantly violates their commitment to ensure equal participation for all member states in this UN event," the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.

Earlier, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry voiced protest to Russian Ambassador to Chisinau Oleg Vasnetsov after polling stations were opened in Transnistria for voters to cast their ballots in the Russian presidential election. This was also the reason behind the expulsion of a Russian diplomat. Later, Vasnetsov told TASS that he was informed by the Moldovan Foreign Ministry that the Russian delegation would not be welcomed at the FAO session.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Chisinau was openly abusing its power as the country hosting the UN event, making it questionable whether the Moldovan authorities could act in this capacity in the future.