Russia declares a Romanian diplomat persona non grata

4 months ago 19

Russia declared a member of the Romanian embassy in Moscow persona non grata in response to Romania’s decision to do the same to a Russian diplomat at the end of May, Romania’s Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.

In May, Romania declared the Russian diplomat persona non grata, stating that the diplomat’s activities violated the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The decision followed information from the Directorate for Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) that a Romanian citizen, who had been monitoring Romanian and NATO military targets in Tulcea and transmitting data to the Russian Embassy in Bucharest since 2022, had been arrested for treason and detained for 30 days.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, diplomatic relations between Romania and Russia have deteriorated, leading to several expulsions of diplomats by both countries.

The latest dispute took place during the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA).

The Romanian parliament hosted the 31st annual session of the OSCE PA in Bucharest between 29 June and 3 July.

On 15 June, Romania’s Foreign Ministry announced that delegations from Russia and Belarus would not be allowed to attend the meeting.

“The decision of the Romanian authorities reflects Romania’s consistent stance towards the Russian Federation given the ongoing war against Ukraine,” said Radu Filip, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New.ro reported.

On Wednesday, both legislative chambers of the Russian Federal Assembly voted to suspend the country’s participation in the OSCE PA and to stop its contributions. In a statement to the OSCE, Russian lawmakers criticised the organisation for failing to promote constructive dialogue and for becoming a “politicised instrument promoting an anti-Russian agenda”, reported TASS.

“Romania’s demonstrative refusal to issue visas to members of the Russian delegation to participate in the annual session of the OSCE PA in Bucharest in 2024 was “the last point in the emerging deadlock,” as it has demonstrated that “confrontational tendencies and intolerance have taken over the common sense, spirit and values of this organisation,” the statement concluded.

(Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)