Dan Nicushor
The decision was made following an incident involving an unmanned aerial vehicle.
According to Russian media reports, Romanian President Nicușor Dan had previously stated that an F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone over Romanian territory. In connection with the incident, Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipaev was summoned to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“During the meeting, the Russian ambassador was officially handed a verbal note, in which the Romanian side notified him of the declaration of the inadmissibility of the actions of a member of the Russian Federation’s mission in Bucharest, ordering him to leave Romanian territory within five days. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned the Romanian ambassador to the Russian Federation in Bucharest for consultations,” according to a statement published on the ministry’s website.
The Foreign Ministry noted that the Russian diplomat was shown the wreckage of a drone that had been shot down on Romanian territory.
Earlier, the Romanian Parliament had approved a law authorizing the destruction of drones that violate the state border in airspace. For its part, NATO has stepped up surveillance of the airspace over Romania by deploying additional early-warning assets.
