Russia says alleged Romanian spy must leave

By the CNN Wire Staff

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Russian Foreign Ministry: Grecu is "persona non grata," must leave Russia within 48 hours
Gabriel Grecu accused of being a Romanian spy
Russian FSB: Agent caught "red handed ... attempting to obtain secret military information"
Romanian Embassy in Moscow won't comment on the investigation

(CNN) -- The Romanian diplomat Russian officials said they caught "red handed" Monday, "attempting to obtain secret military information" has been declared "persona non grata" and has to leave Russia in 48 hours, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry website.

In a statement released to Russian press agencies, the Federal Security Service, or FSB said they detained Gabriel Grecu while he was attempting to obtain secret defense information from a Russian citizen on August 16. Spy gadgets seized from the agent fully reveal his hostile activities against Russia, they said.

The FSB said Grecu worked at the Romanian Embassy in Moscow, Russia, under the cover of the first secretary in its political department and had been an officer at the Romanian External Information Service.

The Russian Foreign Ministry protested to Romanian officials through diplomatic channels about Grecu's activities, which they feel were incompatible with his diplomatic status, according to the ministry's website.

The Romanian Embassy in Moscow would not comment on the alleged incident.

CNN's MaximTkachenko contributed to this report.