Representatives of the Russian embassy in Bucharest reacted on Sunday to the fact that a day earlier a backpack thrown on Kiseleva Boulevard near the diplomatic mission alerted the authorities in the capital, but later the alarm turned out to be false.

On Saturday, at 6 Kiselev Boulevard, where the headquarters of the Russian Embassy in Romania is located, a backpack was thrown on the sidewalk, which was reported to 112.

Pyrotechnicians checked the suspicious item with the help of a robot, and authorities concluded that the alert was false and the bag belonged to a woman.

Russian diplomats believe it was a ploy to disrupt Sunday’s presidential vote.

“It can be assumed that this incident is a deliberate attempt by Russia’s enemies to cause panic and disrupt today’s voting of Russian citizens in the presidential elections in Bucharest. We assure all our detractors that such challenges are doomed to failure. All the necessary security measures were observed for the organization and conduct of voting, as well as to ensure the constitutional right of our citizens,” said the diplomatic mission’s message on Facebook.

Russia will open a polling station for presidential elections at the embassy in Bucharest.

Russian officials also specified that “both Russian and Romanian legislation provide for criminal liability for obstructing the exercise of electoral rights or the activities of election commissions, not to mention other articles of the criminal codes of the two countries that apply in this situation.”