Romania ordered a Russian diplomat out of the country Tuesday in a tit-for-tat expulsion for the arrest of an alleged Romanian spy in Moscow, dpa reported. The foreign ministry said the first secretary at the Russian ambassy in Bucharest had been declared persona non grata and given 48 hours to leave the country. Earlier the ministry protested at the arrest of one of its diplomats on espionage charges in Moscow, threatening to take the "necessary steps" over what it said was a violation of the Geneva Convention protecting the immunity of diplomats. The diplomat was declared persona non grata and ordered to leave Russia within 48 hours. Bucharest and Moscow have traditionally had an uneasy relationship. This has worsened since Romania, a former Warsaw Pact country, joined NATO in 2004 and particularly since its open efforts to Westernize its neighbour, the former Soviet republic Moldova. -- SPA
