Russian diplomats and embassy staff who fell under Moldova's demand for Moscow to reduce its diplomatic presence in Chisinau have currently departed the country, TASS has reported.
They left from Chisinau's international airport aboard a Tu-214 aircraft operated by the Russian Special Flight Squadron.
"Forty-five embassy staff members have departed; along with their family members, this amounts to around 70 individuals. Everything proceeded normally. Moldovan officials provided the necessary assistance," the press secretary stated.
The expulsion of Russian diplomats followed publications on Moldovan social media and traditional media, which raised concerns about the number of satellite antennas on the embassy building and accused Russian diplomats of espionage.
Later, Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration summoned Russia's ambassador, Oleg Vasnetsov, to provide explanations. Moldovan authorities informed Moscow's envoy about the necessity to reduce the embassy staff to ten diplomatic personnel and fifteen administrative and technical staff. Nicolae Popescu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, explained this move with suspicions of Russian diplomats' involvement in "unfriendly" activities, "espionage," and attempts to destabilize the country's political situation.
Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Moldova's unfriendly action would not go unanswered.
In October of the 2022, Chisinau expelled a staff member from the Russian embassy following the explosion of an unidentified rocket on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. In response, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expelled an employee from the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova.
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