Moscow Cries Foul After Pro-West Moldova Expels Russian Diplomat

Moscow has denounced Moldova’s decision to declare a Russian diplomat “persona non grata” for reasons that remain unclear. “These actions are aimed at dismantling Russian-Moldovan relations,” Oleg Vasnetsov, Russia’s ambassador to Moldova, said on Aug. 1. Speaking to reporters in Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, he went on to assert that Moscow would deliver a “proportionate response” to the diplomat’s apparent expulsion. Earlier the same day, Mr. Vasnetsov was summoned by Moldova’s foreign ministry, where, according to the ministry, he was told that an unnamed Russian Embassy official was a “collaborator.” The ministry also claimed to have information that the Russian official had engaged in activities “incompatible with diplomatic status.”...