CHISINAU, January 17. /TASS/. Moldovan President Igor Dodon on Wednesday condemned the government’s move to ban entry to Chisinau for famous Russian TV presenter Irada Zeinalova.
"We had agreed that she will fly to Chisinau upon my invitation and I will give her an interview. Such government’s steps hamper the process of restoring full-fledged dialogue with our strategic partner Russia," the president told TASS.
Earlier, Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip had announced plans to mend ties with Moscow.
Dodon said he had put a great deal of effort to convince the Russian leadership not to slap retaliatory measures. The president voiced regret that the ruling majority in the republic’s government had passed a law on limiting the broadcast of Russian TV channels and did not allow Russian journalists into the country.
Zeinalova, the host of "Weekly Roundup" on the NTV channel, was stopped at the Moldovan capital’s airport for passport control procedures on Tuesday afternoon and later was sent back to Moscow. The TV presenter was banned from entering the country as she had not mentioned the purpose of her visit, Moldova’s border police spokesperson Raisa Novitski told TASS on Wednesday. Zeinalova, who had arrived from Istanbul, said she was scheduled to have meetings with officials, but could not confirm the plans by any documents, Novitski said.
Earlier, Moldova’s authorities had banned entry for Russian performers, political scientists, public figures and journalists from NTV, REN TV, Life News and other media outlets. Russia’s Foreign Ministry handed a note of protest to Moldova’s Ambassador to Moscow Andrei Neguta over the entry bans.