Moldova has declared an employee of the Russian embassy in Chisinau persona non grata after Tatarstan leader Rustam Minnikhanov was refused entry to the country. On this subject informed TASS in reference to the press secretary of the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Filip Cojocaru.
Two other employees of the Russian Embassy were deprived of special access to the airport. Moldovan government spokesman Daniel Voda explain action against diplomats for their behavior at Chisinau airport on April 17, when Moldovan border guards barred Tatarstan leader Rustam Minnikhanov from entering.
According to Voda, the Russians “violated the established rules of conduct at Chisinau airport.” The MFA of Moldova also summoned Russian Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean has called visits by Russian officials to the republic unacceptable as hostilities in Ukraine continue.
Vasnetsov informed RIA Novosti that the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not explain the reasons for refusing entry to Minnikhanov. According to him, the department also did not give a “clear answer” to the question of what the inappropriate behavior of the employees of the Russian Embassy consisted of.
On April 17, the Moldovan authorities did not allow into the country Rustam Minnikhanov, who planned to attend the International Congress of People’s Diplomacy “Friendship of Peoples – 2023” in Gagauzia. This autonomy within Moldova means a rapprochement with Russia. Minnikhanov was supposed to support the candidate for leader of Gagauzia, Viktor Petrov, in the April 30 elections.
According to Minnikhanov, upon his arrival in Chisinau he learned that he was recognized as an “undesirable person”. Deputy of the Moldovan Parliament Alexander Sukhodolsky, who invited the leader of Tatarstan to the congress, said that Minnikhanov was not allowed to get off the plane and received a document refusing entry.
The Moldovan border service explained that Minnikhanov had no valid reason for the trip and that the support of a candidate in local elections is not considered as such. The border service has not confirmed that the head of Tatarstan has been declared persona non grata in the republic.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry appointed actions of the Moldovan authorities as an “unfriendly step” aimed at “undermining the traditionally close interaction between the regions of our countries”.
Read the Latest Ukraine War News on The Eastern Herald.
