An employee of the Moldovan Embassy in Moscow was declared persona non grata and told to leave Russia. The Embassy’s charge d’affaires was notified about this decision after being summoned to the the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a press release, the Moldovan MFA expressed its regret over this decision, considering that it contravenes the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Moscow’s measure comes in retaliation to Chisinau expelling Dmitri Kelov, the Russian Embassy’s military attaché, who was declared persona non grata the next day after two Moldovan officials were arrested on espionage charges.