Moldova has ordered three Russian diplomats to leave the country after accusing the embassy of helping a pro-Kremlin lawmaker to escape imprisonment. Russia declared it would mount an “appropriate response”.
Moldova’s Foreign Ministry expelled the Russian Embassy employees on Monday, saying that its decision was “based on clear evidence on the conduct of activities contrary to the diplomatic status” on the messaging app Telegram
Russia’s Foreign Ministry immediately announced that it would hit back, according to a state-run news agency RIA Novosti.
The diplomatic spat came after Moldova accused the Russian Embassy on Monday of engineering the escape of a pro-Kremlin Moldovan lawmaker to the Russian-backed breakaway Transnistria region just as he was about to be jailed over illegal political funding charges.
The case of Alexander Nesterovschii is the latest in which Moldova’s pro-European government has accused Russia of meddling in its political landscape, allegations that Moscow denies.
Moldova’s security service released footage that allegedly showed Nesterovschii entering the Russian Embassy in Chisinau on March 18, a day before a court sentenced him to 12 years in jail.
The lawmaker has denied charges of illegally channeling money to a pro-Russian party associated with fugitive businessman Ilan Shor at local elections in 2023, as well as the 2024 presidential vote and a national referendum on Moldova’s EU aspirations.
Moldova’s security service said that on the day of his sentencing, Nesterovschii was driven in a white car with diplomatic plates visible in the video to the Transnistria region, which broke away from Moldovan control in the early 1990s.
