Moldova to reduce staff at Russian embassy in Chişinău

Moldovan authorities have decided to reduce the staff of the Russian embassy in Chişinău to ten diplomats and 15 technical staff, the press service of the country's foreign ministry said.

“This decision comes as a result of numerous unfriendly actions towards the Republic of Moldova, unrelated to the diplomatic mandate, as well as attempts to destabilize the internal situation in our country,” the ministry’s statement reads.

Earlier, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu also announced the reduction of the staff of the Russian embassy. According to Popescu, the decision was made due to the suspicion that “part of the embassy staff is involved in destabilizing the situation within the country.”

Andrian Keptonar, an MP Action and Solidarity party, put forward a proposal to reduce the staff at the Russian embassy. According to Keptonar, the staff of the Russian embassy in Chişinău consists of about 80 employees, including 40 diplomats, while only five diplomats from Moldova are accredited in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the Moldovan authorities’ decision to reduce the staff of the Russian embassy “unjustified,” promising that Russia would take retaliatory measures.