About 40 Russian diplomats, technical staff and members of their families flew out of Bucharest on July 1 on a special flight organized by the Kremlin following the order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania dated June 8 reduce Moscow’s diplomatic presence in country.
Romanian authorities said that 11 diplomats and 29 technical and administrative staff were on board the plane. According to officials, the plane took off with a six-hour delay.
On June 8, Bucharest called on Moscow to reduce the staff of the embassy in Romania by 40 people. The number of diplomats and technical staff of the Russian mission should be equal to the number of employees of the Romanian diplomatic mission in Russia, the Romanian Foreign Ministry reported at the time.
Russia in general had to reduce 51 persons, but since not all positions were filled, 11 diplomats and 29 technical and administrative personnel left Romania. This is more than half of the state.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry also stressed that the decision to reduce the staff of the diplomatic mission reflects the current level of relations between the two countries after Moscow unleashed aggressive war against Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia promised to give an answer.
After a full-scale Russian attack on Ukraine Romania joined the sanctions against Moscow. Last year, Bucharest expelled several Russian diplomats and also limited the issuance of visas to Russians.
In February, Romania stopped the work of the Russian House in the country, noting that the Russian side deliberately distorted reality and historical truth in order to influence the opinion of Romanians.