CHISINAU, July 26. /TASS/. The staff at the Russian Embassy in Chisinau will be reduced to 10 diplomats and 15 technical workers, an amount approximately 60% less than the current number of employees, Daniel Voda, spokesman for the Moldovan government, said replying to journalists’ questions following a briefing.

"The number of diplomatic workers will be reduced to 10 people and technical staff will be reduced to 15 people. Moldovan authorities notified a representative of the Russian Embassy about the decision this morning," he said.

Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu said at a meeting of the government that this decision was made due to Russian diplomats being suspected of alleged "espionage" and attempts to "destabilize" the situation in the country. He also mentioned an investigative report published on Monday which notes a large number of antennas on the embassy buildings in downtown Chisinau. Reporters from the Jurnal media outlet think that the diplomatic mission can purportedly collect confidential information using special equipment.

In relation to this, Russian Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov in a conversation with reporters said that the espionage scandal was only a pretext for a decision made long ago to cut diplomatic staff. According to him, Chisinau’s actions seriously undermine the possibility of dialogue between the two countries.

Last October, Moldova expelled an employee of the Russian Embassy after an unidentified projectile exploded near the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. The Russian Foreign Ministry branded this move as unmotivated and expelled a staffer from the Moldovan Embassy in response.