The president of Romania, Nicusor Dan, announced this Friday that he has decided to expel the Russian consul stationed in Constanța and proceed with the closure of the Consulate of the Russian Federation in this city on the Black Sea, after a drone impacted a residential building in the Romanian town of Galați early this morning, causing two injuries.
In a message to the nation after leading an emergency meeting of the Romanian National Defence Council, Dan attributed "full responsibility for this incident" to Russia.
"Given this situation, the Consul General of the Russian Federation in Constanța has been declared persona non grata and the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Constanța will close its doors," stated the head of the Romanian state, who also expressed his gratitude to European partners and the United States for "their solidarity, shown both individually and through multilateral formats, both in the EU and NATO."
Before the Council meeting, Dan had a conversation early in the day with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in which he addressed what he described as "the most serious security incident on Romanian territory" since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow's Warning and Summons of the Russian Ambassador
Russia has reacted to the announcement of the closure of the Consulate in Constanța through the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, who has warned Bucharest that Moscow's response "will not be long in coming," according to a brief statement disseminated by the TASS agency.
In parallel, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Russian ambassador in Bucharest, Vladimir Lipayev. "Romania's security is our absolute priority," stressed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Toiu Oana, who described what happened as "extremely serious."
"We will officially communicate the consequences that this lack of responsibility from Russia will have for the diplomatic relations between our countries, as well as the next steps at the European level regarding sanction packages," added the Foreign Minister.