Russia expels 3 Moldovan diplomats in retaliatory move

Moscow expelled three Moldovan diplomats on Friday in a retaliatory measure, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. "On April 4, the Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the Russian Federation, Lilian Darii, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest was lodged over the decision of the Moldovan authorities on March 31 to declare three staff members of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau 'persona non grata' for allegedly engaging in activities incompatible with their diplomatic status," the statement read. The ministry underscored that the Russian Embassy in Moldova operates strictly in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. It also noted that accusations of interference in Moldova’s internal affairs are unfounded. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry had declared three Russian diplomats "persona non grata" on March 31. Commenting on the move, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called it "part of the Moldovan government’s ongoing anti-Russian policy.'