Romania expels two military officials attached to Russian embassy for breaching diplomatic rules

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania said on Wednesday it had expelled two military diplomats from the Russian embassy in Bucharest as tensions sour between Moscow and the European Union and NATO-member country.

Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision related to Russia's military, air and naval attaché, Victor Makovskiy, and his deputy, Evgeni Ignatiev, over alleged “activities that contravene the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.” The ministry did not provide further detail.

Romania's Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu informed the head of the Russian embassy of the decision during a meeting on Wednesday, the ministry said.

The Russian embassy described the decision as “unfounded and unfriendly.” The embassy “reserves the right to take retaliatory measures,” it said in a Facebook post.

The expulsions came a day Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service reportedly claimed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had asked Bucharest to bar Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in last year’s canceled election, from participating in the rerun in May.

Georgescu has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past as “a man who loves his country” and called Ukraine “an invented state,” but he claims not to be pro-Russian.

Romania's Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the election two days before the Dec. 8 runoff after Georgescu’s surprise first-round win. The far-right populist had polled in single digits and declared zero campaign spending, after which allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged. Moscow has denied it interfering in the Romanian election process.

Election rerun

Romanian prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation against Georgescu, accusing him of supporting fascist groups, “incitement to actions against the constitutional order,” and false declarations regarding electoral campaign financing and asset disclosures. Prosecutors placed him under judicial control, which he has appealed.

Georgescu, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, said on Monday outside a court in Bucharest that it is “a political case” against him.

The first round of the rerun of the election is scheduled for May 4. If no candidate gets more than 50% of ballots, a runoff will follow on May 18.

It isn’t yet clear whether Georgescu will be able to participate in the new election.