Chisinau expels three employees of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova. Moscow reacts
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today sent a note to the ambassador-designate of the Russian Federation in Chisinau, Oleg Ozerov, declaring three embassy employees as undesirable persons in the Republic of Moldova.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the decision is based on clear evidence of activities contrary to diplomatic status. The diplomats in question are to leave the country.
The three expelled diplomats include the co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission from Russia, Ozerov announced.
"The expulsion of three Russian diplomats, including the co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission, is a serious blow to both bilateral relations and the Transnistrian settlement issue. It is counterproductive. (...) I demand that our relations return to the format of a normal interstate dialogue, based on existing legal documents. Such problems should be solved through bilateral dialogue, not through public accusations," Oleg Ozerov declared.
Also, the official stated that he did not know Alexandr Nesterovschi, and he had heard his name in the media.
The measure comes in the context of accusations launched by the Intelligence and Security Service, according to which Russia would have helped the criminally convicted deputy Alexandr Nesterovschi to hide in the Transnistrian region.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation will remain with six diplomats in Chisinau and 15 people from the technical staff.
The last Russian diplomat to be expelled from the Republic of Moldova is Dmitri Kelov, accused by the Moldovan authorities of carrying out "activities incompatible with his diplomatic status".
Moscow reacts
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the expulsion “unjustified” and part of an “anti-Russian course” by the Moldovan authorities. She accused Chisinau of seeking to “destroy Russian-Moldovan relations” and warned that “ Russia will respond appropriately to these hostile actions.”
Russia's ambassador-designate summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ambassador-designate of the Russian Federation in Chisinau, Oleg Ozerov, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, after the Director of the Intelligence and Security Service, Alexandru Musteață, stated that the Embassy helped convicted MP Alexandr Nesterovschi hide in the Transnistrian region.
We remind you that this morning the head of the SIS announced that Nesterovschi was on the left bank of the Nistru, where he would have arrived with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Chisinau. Musteață qualified this action as part of a hybrid aggression mechanism coordinated by Moscow against the Republic of Moldova.
The Russian Embassy rejected the accusations, calling them "unfounded and unacceptable insinuations". The MFA is to provide details about the discussions with Ozerov.
We remind you that MP Alexandr Nesterovschi was sentenced on March 19 to 12 years in prison in a closed-type penitentiary. The sentence was pronounced in his absence. The MP affiliated with the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor is accused of passive corruption and involvement in the illegal financing of a political party by an organized criminal group. Investigators claim that the deputy received at least $35,000, plane tickets to Tel Aviv and an important position in the "Renastere" Party, in exchange for leaving the Bloc of Communists and Socialists and contributing to the formation of a new faction affiliated with Ilan Shor.
