Romania expels Russian diplomat

Romanian authorities have declared the Russian Embassy's deputy military attache, Alexei Grishayev, a persona non grata on Romanian territory, Report informs, citing DW.

Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu informed the Russian ambassador in Bucharest of the decision in a meeting on Monday, a Foreign Ministry official told local press agency Agerpress.

The step to remove the Russian official was taken in solidarity with the Czech Republic, which is involved in a spat with Moscow.

The Foreign Ministry defended its decision to remove Grishaev from the country in a statement to Agerpress that said "his activities and actions contravene the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969."

The decision in Bucharest follows an escalating diplomatic row over the alleged role of Russian spies in a deadly blast at a Czech munitions depot in 2014. It is the worst dispute between Moscow and Prague in decades.

Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said Moscow would have until the end of May to withdraw 63 embassy employees, a move he said aimed to bring staff numbers in line with those at the Czech Embassy in Russia.

NATO allies Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all announced that they were expelling Russian diplomats after Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek asked for solidarity from the country's European neighbors.