Romania has joined a growing list of countries to expel Russian diplomats in solidarity with Czechia, which accused the Russian secret service of being responsible for a deadly explosion in the country in 2014.

Romania's foreign ministry in a statement called the diplomat in question, deputy military attache Alexei Grichayev, a "persona non grata ... in view of his activities and actions contrary to the Convention of Vienna on diplomatic relations."

Bogdan Aurescu, Romania's foreign minister, also called Russia's ambassador to the country, Valery Kuzmin, to his office on Wednesday.

Estonia, Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia have made similar moves in solidarity with Czechia, after the country's interior minister, Jan Hamacek, asked its NATO and EU allies to stand with them in solidarity against the country. 

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Czechia expelled 18 diplomats on April 17 after the prime minister Andrej Babis said the country had evidence that Russian spies were involved in an explosion in the town of Vrbetice that killed two people and forced hundreds more to be evacuated.

The two alleged spies, identified as Alexander Petrov, 41, and Ruslan Boshirov, 43, were also charged in their absence in the UK for attempting to kill a former Russian spy and his daughter in the country in 2018.

Russia has denied the accusation. A Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, told reporters: "Any accusations of Russia in the context of the various events in the Czech Republic is completely unfounded."

Russia also responded by then expelling 20 Czech embassy staff from the country.

Cover picture: Palace of Parliament, also known as People's Palace, Bucharest. /Mel Longhurst / VW Pics/UIG via Getty Images