MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. The constant accusations of the Moldovan leadership against Russia are absurd and bring negative practices into the lives of ordinary citizens, Alexey Polishchuk, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS Department, told TASS in an interview.
He drew attention to the rhetoric of Moldovan President Maia Sandu regarding Moscow's decision to open polling stations for the Russian presidential election in the unrecognized Transnistria and the subsequent expulsion of a Russian diplomat.
"The absurd accusations of the Moldovan leadership against us are constantly being made. We strongly do not understand how ensuring constitutional suffrage can demonstrate "disrespect" for the Moldovan state and its citizens," he said. "They declared an employee of our embassy persona non grata over the elections in Transnistria. We strongly protested and were forced to expel the Moldovan diplomat in response. I emphasize: we had to. Such expulsions have a negative impact on ordinary citizens who apply to diplomatic missions for consular assistance."
The diplomat expressed his bewilderment at how "one can advocate for democracy and ban voting, and then punish it for holding it." "Let me remind you that about a quarter of a million Russian citizens live in Moldova, of which about 220,000 live in Transnistria. Denying the possibility of expressing one's will would mean a massive violation of the democratic norms, to which the Moldovan leadership declares its commitment," Polishchuk stressed. "We always assist the Moldovan authorities in organizing the voting of Moldovan citizens living in Russia. When the Moldovan elections are held, as many polling stations are opened in our country as the official Chisinau requests. Unfortunately, the Moldovan authorities do not appreciate this.".