Five Moldovan diplomats declared persona non grata on territory of Russia

Chisinau, 31 May /MOLDPRES/ - Five Moldovan diplomats of Moldova’s Embassy in Moscow today were declared persona non grata on the territory of Russia.  

Contacted by MOLDPRES, the spokesman for the Moldovan Foreign and European Integration Ministry, Ana Samson, has said that, “today afternoon, a note was received from the Russian Foreign Ministry, reading that five employees of the Moldovan diplomatic mission in Moscow were declared persona non grata. We will subsequently come up with details,” Samson said.  

Also today, a press release was placed on the webpage of the Russian Foreign Ministry, which reads that these measures were taken in response to the expulsion, on 29 May, of five Russian diplomats by the Moldovan authorities. According to the communiqué, the Moldovan diplomats must leave Russia in three days at the latest. “The Russian side voices hope that Moldova is aware of its hostile actions against the Russian Federation and the destructive step undertaken by the Moldovan side, which runs counter the principles of partnership and mutual trust,” reads the communiqué of the Russian Foreign Ministry.      

Two days ago, five diplomats of Russia were expelled from Moldova and declared persona non grata on the country’s territory. At a today’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said that “the governance did not want to take such a measure and the emerging of this situation; yet, the national interest, Moldova’s security is at stake, which has priority against any other reasons.”   

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor L. Alcaza)