Russian Embassy: Decision regarding Consulate in Constanta will be followed by response measures

Russia's response to Romania's decision to shut down the Russian consulate general and to declare consul general in Constanta Andrey Kosilin persona non grata will not be long in coming, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on Friday.According to Zakharova, the "frenzy" surrounding the drone incident in Romania is being used by the West to divert attention from the killing of children in Starobelsk, in the Russian-occupied region of Luhansk."The media frenzy around the drone in Romania is used by the West to divert attention from Zelensky's killing of children in Starobelsk that was sponsored by the EU and supported by it, and, evidently, to justify the closure of the Russian consulate general in Constanta," the diplomat said.Romania declared on Friday Russian consul general in Constanta persona non grata and announced the closure of the Russian consulate general, President Nicusor Dan said after a meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense. Ambassador Vladimir Lipaev, summoned in the context of the drone crash in Galati, informed the Romanian side that the decision regarding the Consulate General of Russia in Constanta "will be followed by response measures"."Without any basis, he was informed of the decision to declare the Russian Consul in Constanta persona non grata and to close the Consulate General of the Russian Federation. (...) The Ambassador emphasized that the incident in Galati cannot be interpreted even approximately as a hostile action by Russia against Romania, and any other statements that fuel anti-Russian hysteria in the local political and media space can only be considered manipulative propaganda, intended to further complicate the already complex Russian-Romanian relations. The Romanian side was informed that its decision regarding the Consulate General of Russia in Constanta will be followed by retaliatory measures," a statement sent by the Embassy's Press Office, posted on the Facebook page of the diplomatic mission in Bucharest, states.Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that "Russia has never threatened and does not threaten European states," after they accused Moscow of being responsible for the crash of a drone over a residential building in Galati, AFP reports.Previously, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, told TASS that Russia's response to the closure of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Romania and the declaration of Consul General Andrei Kosilin as persona non grata will not be long in coming.On the night of Thursday to Friday, a drone crashed, around 2:00 in the morning, into a residential building in the municipality of Galati, the impact being followed by an explosion and the outbreak of a fire in an apartment located on the 10th floor of the building....Approximately 70 people were evacuated or self-evacuated from the building.Two people were injured and taken to the hospital.The Prosecutor General's Office announced that it is taking over the investigation into the case of the Russian drone, which hit a residential building located in the center of Galati and exploded upon impact.According to the Ministry of National Defense, the entire load of the Geran 2 drone exploded upon impact.President Nicusor Dan convened the Supreme Council of National Defense.Romania informed allies and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance about the incident and requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to our country.Messages of support for Romania came from both NATO members and partners in the European Union.After visiting the injured people and the affected apartment building in Galati, the Romanian head of state emphasized that "the Russian Federation committed a serious act, which endangered the lives of Romanian citizens on Romanian soil.""It is an escalation that cannot be accepted, will not be tolerated, and will not go unanswered. It is the consequence of the irresponsibility with which Russia uses various tactics, in total contempt for civilian life. They are all part of Moscow's arsenal to induce fear, to undermine trust, to do harm. Therefore, I want my message to be understood very clearly: no matter how much it tries to divide us, no matter our different opinions on various topics, Russia will not succeed in dividing our society when it comes to the integrity of Romania, democracy and freedom in Romania. These are values that our society has assumed in historical moments and around which we are united," the president pointed out.