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MAE: Closure of Romania's Consulate General in Rostov-on-Don is Russia's measure to ensure parity of diplomatic representation
The closure of the Consulate General of Romania in Rostov-on-Don represents the response measure of the Russian authorities in order to ensure parity with regard to the diplomatic representation of Romania in the Russian Federation, respectively the diplomatic representation of the Russian Federation in Romania, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informed in a Thursday's response to the request of Agerpres.
The MAE reminds that on June 8, 2023, the Romanian side took the decision to cap the diplomatic and technical-administrative staff of the Russian Federation in Romania, with the consequence of their significant reduction.
The respective measure was adopted in accordance with the provisions of art. 11 para. 1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), to adequately reflect the level of bilateral relations, drastically reduced by Romania after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
Except for the Embassy in Moscow, Romania has a Consulate General in Saint-Petersburg. The Russian Federation also has a Consulate General in Romania, in Constanta, attached to the Embassy in Bucharest.
The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zaharova, announced in Wednesday's briefing the closing of the Consulate General of Romania in Rostov-on-Don.
"The Romanian side received an official notification according to which the Consulate General of Romania in Rostov-on-Don will cease its activity as of October 14. The functions of providing consular services in the respective constituency are transferred to the embassy of this country in Moscow", Zaharova said in the briefing transcribed on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The measure follows the decision of the Russian side to denounce the bilateral intergovernmental agreement regarding the opening of the aforementioned consular office, adopted in December 2023, as a response to the unfriendly actions of the Romanian authorities, the spokeswoman argued, without elaborating.