Moldovan Ambassador to Russia, Lilian Darii, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday. The ministry expressed strong disapproval over the “unlawful detention” of Russian diplomatic couriers at the Moldovan capital’s airport. This detention was deemed a serious breach of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Russian Foreign Ministry highlighted that the couriers were subjected to an unauthorized demand for the inspection of diplomatic correspondence and were asked to hand over their mobile phones. Additionally, the Russian Embassy’s diplomatic staff in Moldova were denied access to the airport’s designated area and were unable to provide necessary consular support.
Despite prior notification to Moldova about their arrival, the diplomatic couriers were prevented from entering the country’s territory and were compelled to return to Russia. Tensions between Russia and Moldova have escalated since late 2020 due to changes in Moldova’s foreign policy. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recently characterized Moldova as becoming increasingly hostile towards Russia.
In a related development, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Romanian Ambassador Cristian Istrate to inform Bucharest about retaliatory actions following the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Constanta. The Ministry disclosed that the Romanian Consul General in St. Petersburg was declared persona non grata, and the closure of the consular office was imminent as a response to Bucharest’s actions.
