Romania Recalls Its Ambassador from Russia and Expels a Russian Diplomat
Romania has decided to recall its ambassador to Russia for consultations and has announced the expulsion of a Russian diplomat. Bucharest made this decision following a series of incidents in which Russian “Shahed” attack drones entered the country’s airspace.
The Romanian authorities responded to repeated violations of its airspace and the escalating threats associated with Russian attacks on Ukraine.
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated after summoning the Russian ambassador that it had lodged a protest with him over three consecutive days of airspace violations by Russian drones and had shown him debris from one of them, which had been officially identified as Russian.
“During the meeting, the Romanian side lodged a strong protest against these unlawful and irresponsible actions and clearly emphasized who is responsible for the incidents. They stressed that Russia’s ongoing violations of Romania’s airspace—which is also NATO and EU airspace—are absolutely unacceptable… Russia bears sole responsibility for all these serious incidents and the deterioration of the security situation in the region,” the Foreign Ministry stated.
In addition, the Russian ambassador was informed of the decision to expel one of the embassy’s staff members.
“The Romanian side informed him that the presence of one member of the Russian diplomatic mission in Bucharest is deemed unacceptable, and he must leave Romanian territory within five days,” the statement reads.
Furthermore, Romania is recalling its ambassador to Russia to Bucharest for consultations.
“Romania will continue to closely coordinate its response with its allies and partners in NATO and the EU and is determined to take all necessary measures to protect its national security and its citizens,” the Romanian Foreign Ministry added.
This was announced by the Romanian Foreign Ministry on July 27.
Romania spent €1.5 million to shoot down three Russian drones.
As a reminder, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the ambassador of the Russian Federation, the aggressor state, over repeated violations of the country’s airspace by drones. This occurred after Romanian fighter jets shot down the third drone in the last three days that had violated Romania’s airspace.
Moldova condemned Russia’s violation of Romania’s airspace.
