Romania Expels Russian Diplomat

The Romanian Foreign Ministry declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata for activities that “contradict the provisions of the Vienna Convention”. This was announced to the Russian Charge d’Affaires. “The Romanian authorities have decided to declare persona non grata on the territory of Romania a diplomat of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest for actions that contradict the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” the ministry said in a statement. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RIA Novosti that Moscow would “give an appropriate response.” Romanian TV channel Digi 24 reported that the decision to expel the diplomat was taken amid the preliminary arrest of a Romanian citizen accused of state treason. Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) wrote that the suspect had been conducting reconnaissance at some of the country’s military facilities since 2022 and sent data to Russian intelligence services through the embassy.