MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/. Romanian Ambassador to Russia Cristian Istrate has been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry as Moscow has decided to expel an employee of the Romanian diplomatic mission in a retaliatory move.

"On July 3, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Romanian Ambassador to Moscow Cristian Istrate to notify him that a Romanian diplomatic staff member has been declared persona non grata," the ministry said, adding that the move was in response to Bucharest’s decision to kick a Russian diplomat out of the country.

On May 24, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced a decision by the country’s government to declare a diplomat from the Russian Embassy persona non grata "for actions that contradict the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as of 1961." The Russian Embassy in Bucharest slammed the accusations as groundless. Moscow has warned that an appropriate response will follow.