Russian Embassy's Note Verbale, a groundless accusation, an incorrect approach, says ForMin Aurescu

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu said on Wednesday night, regarding the Note Verbale of the Embassy of the Russian Federation according to which there are persons of Russian citizenship who were allegedly affected by unfounded actions of the Romanian authorities that this approach of the Russian Federation is an "incorrect" one.

"We notice in this period a series of actions to mislead the public opinion and I refer here to that public message of the Russian Embassy today in which it accuses (...) that there are persons of Russian citizenship who would have been affected by unfounded actions of the Romanian authorities, of other entities in Romania, whose social and property rights would have been affected. Nothing more false. We received this Note Verbale, but it is not a Note Verbal of protest, as announced by the Russian Embassy. We immediately tried to find out from the Embassy of the Russian Federation what are the concrete cases in which such violations have occurred, because naturally when there are such cases it is our duty to report to the competent authorities, who will investigate them and, if necessary, to sanction them. Ordinary Russian citizens have no guilt whatsoever that the Russian Federation, the Kremlin regime aggressively attacks another state, they must be protected like any citizens," Aurescu said at private broadcaster Digi 24.

"In this case, it is just a groundless accusation. Such a baseless accusation, which is devoid of any concrete elements or elements of proof, is nothing more than an attempt to mislead public opinion. (...) It is an incorrect approach," the Foreign Affairs Minister said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) confirmed on Wednesday evening that it had received a Note Verbale from the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bucharest (registered with the MAE on March 2nd), by which the latter informs about some unsubstantiated "unfounded actions" that would have violated the "social and property rights" of some Russian citizens residing in Romania.

"Since the respective Note Verbale did not contain any concrete information on cases of violations, the MAE immediately requested by phone the Embassy of the Russian Federation, on the morning of March 2, 2022, the presentation of examples or data to help understand the situation and to establish any necessary steps. So far, the requested specifications have not been received at the MAE," informs the Foreign Ministry.

Apart from this case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs that it has previously received, through the Note Verbale of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, a request for support for facilitating the access to Romania of some carriers of goods registered in the Russian Federation, in transit from Ukraine to third destinations. In this case, according to the usual practice, the MAE promptly informed the relevant authorities in order to arrange the necessary steps and to provide all the support.

"In conclusion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not have concrete data on the situation reported by the Embassy of the Russian Federation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers that the Embassy's approach, carried out within the general parameters and without offering concrete examples and evidence to support the statements in question, as well as its mentioning in the media by the representatives of the Russian diplomatic mission, are likely to mislead the public opinion. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalls that the Note Verbale represents the usual and most widely used way of conducting written diplomatic correspondence, especially between the accredited diplomatic missions and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the accrediting state," the Foreign Ministry emphasizes.