The diplomatic relationship between Russia and Romania continues to deteriorate. On Wednesday afternoon, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the representative of the Romanian ambassador in Russia, Liliana Burda. The ministry later released a video showing Burda entering the so-called Stalin skyscraper on the Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square. The reason was not given at the time.
An hour later, the Russian Foreign Ministry released another video showing Burda leaving the building while talking on her phone. This time, the ministry announced the reason for the visit: the business representative was handed a note that two Romanian diplomats are to leave the country soon. The measure affected the Romanian military attaché in Moscow and his deputy, Oberst Nicu Secară and Oberstleutnant Cristinel Agapi. They were declared “unwelcome persons.” The Russian Foreign Ministry justified the step as a reaction to a similar measure by the Romanian side.
On March 5, the Romanian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian business representative, Yelena Kopnina and also expelled two Russian diplomats from the country. Bucharest accused the Russian military attaché, Viktor Makowski and his deputy, Evgeni Ignatiev, of violating the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The exact reason was not mentioned. According to media reports, the name of the deputy military attaché appeared in an ongoing criminal investigation against the former presidential candidate, Calin Georgescu. According to the reports, a close associate of the right-wing politician called the Russian embassy and demanded a connection with Colonel Ignatiev.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at the time that Romania was looking for any connections between its own political crisis and Russia to shift the blame from themselves.
Georgescu won the first round of the Romanian presidential elections in November. However, the Constitutional Court in Bucharest declared the election invalid in December due to suspicions of Russian interference. The Romanian prosecutor’s office began investigating Georgescu in February. In March, the politician was excluded from the newly scheduled election.