Russia expels Romanian diplomat

MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday expelled the aide to Romania’s military attache, as part of an going diplomatic spat between Moscow and Western capitals.

The move comes in response to Bucharest’s decision last month to remove Russia’s deputy military attache from the country as part of the dispute that has embroiled several EU countries formally under the Kremlin’s sphere of influence.

Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Romania’s ambassador in Moscow was summoned to the ministry and notified of the expulsion. "This step was undertaken by the Russian side in response to Romania declaring persona non grata an assistant to the military attache at the Russian embassy in Bucharest on April 26," it added.