Russia expels Moldovan diplomat in tit-for-tat move

Russia has expelled a Moldovan diplomat in retaliation for Chisinau’s expulsion of a Russian embassy employee over the crash of a drone in Moldova. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that it had summoned Moldova’s ambassador, Lilian Darii, and informed him that a member of the Moldovan embassy’s staff had been declared unacceptable “on the basis of the principle of reciprocity”.

“A strong protest was lodged with the ambassador after the Moldovan authorities on October 23 declared an employee of the Russian embassy in Chisinau persona non grata,” the ministry said in a statement. It said Moldova’s decision was made “under the formal pretext of the alleged discovery on the territory of the republic of debris of an unmanned aerial vehicle carrying explosives”, calling it “another unfriendly step”.

The ministry said the “true goal” of the move was “to further undermine the centuries-long history of Russian-Moldovan relations”.