CHISINAU, Aug 1, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Moldova on Thursday declared an employee of the Russian embassy in Chisinau as persona non grata, in the second espionage case to emerge in the country in recent weeks.

The move came after prosecutors announced Wednesday the detention of two officials suspected of treason and conspiring against the country.

They did not identify them, but media reports said one is the head of the legal department in parliament, while the other belonged to the country's border police.

The two had "communicated" with an employee of an embassy in Chisinau since 2023, according to the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases, which did not identify the country involved.

They added that one of the two Moldovan officials detained allegedly collected and delivered to the embassy employee "information to be used against the interests of the Republic of Moldova".

On Thursday morning, the Russian ambassador, Oleg Vasnetsov, was summoned to the Moldovan foreign ministry over the decision to expel the Russian diplomat "as a result of specific activities... incompatible with diplomatic status", according to a ministry statement.

Vasnetsov told local media that "very unfriendly" actions had led to a further reduction in embassy personnel with "few diplomats left".
Earlier, the Russian embassy had denounced "artificially fuelled anti-Russian tensions".

Asked about the case on Wednesday, President Maia Sandu told local TV that "The most important thing now is to make sure that this example of treason is sanctioned in the harshest way, as the law says."

It is the second espionage case involving Russia in recent weeks.

In June, an investigative journalism website wrote that a former Chief of the General Staff, Igor Gorgan, had regularly passed on information to Russia, prompting Sandu to strip him of state distinctions.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Moldova has expelled dozens of diplomats and employees of the Russian embassy, frequently accusing Moscow of meddling in its interests.

The country has applied for EU membership and will hold a referendum on the bid alongside presidential elections set for October 20.