Russia summoned Moldovan Ambassador Lilian Darii on Tuesday over what it described as two incidents involving the mistreatment of Russian diplomats in Moldova. The move adds to tensions between Moscow and the former Soviet republic, whose pro-EU government staunchly supports Ukraine.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, police in Chisinau stopped a bus operated by the Russian Embassy over the weekend and removed its diplomatic license plates “without explanation.” The ministry alleged that officers “used force” against embassy staff and threatened them with detention.
In a separate incident, a group of Russian diplomats transporting official cargo from Moldova to Romania were detained at the border for more than four hours “without any justification,” the ministry said.
The ministry said the incidents constituted “a serious breach” of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Moldovan Foreign Ministry denied the allegations, arguing that the country “faithfully fulfills its international obligations and will continue to act in full compliance with international law and the principle of reciprocity in diplomatic relations.” It did not comment on the specific incidents reported by Russia.
Moldova, a country of around 2.5 million people sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, has adopted increasingly hostile policies toward Russia under President Maia Sandu, who came to power in 2020.
Sandu has accused Russia of attempting to topple her government and waging a “high-intensity hybrid war” against the country. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has rejected the claims, arguing that Chisinau was using “the myth of a Russian threat” to distract voters from the country’s economic problems.
The EU granted Moldova candidate status in 2022 alongside Ukraine. Sandu floated the possibility of abandoning constitutional neutrality and joining “a larger alliance,” without specifically mentioning NATO. Zakharova denounced the rhetoric as an attempt to turn Moldova into “a military bridgehead against Russia.”