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Russian embassy to continue promoting dialogue on Transnistrian settlement

"We will continue participating in the Joint Control Commission for managing the peacekeeping operation on the Dniester," Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov said

CHISINAU, August 11. /TASS/. Russia’s embassy in Chisinau will continue efforts to promote Transnistrian settlement talks, despite the fact that its staff was reduced at the request of the Moldovan side, Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov told TASS.

"Chisinau’s decision has created certain problems for us. Nevertheless, Russian diplomats will focus special attention on maintaining peace in Transnistria and promoting the negotiating process. We will continue participating in the Joint Control Commission for managing the peacekeeping operation on the Dniester. We will also do our best to give an impetus to the negotiations on the Transnistrian settlement, including the 5+2 format (which is comprised of Moldova, Transnistria, Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, and observers from the European Union and the United States - TASS)," he said.

Relations between the two countries began to worsen after pro-European forces came to power in Moldova in 2021. The expulsion of Russian diplomats was preceded by publications in the Moldovan mass media and on social networks alleging that the number of antennas on the building of the Russian embassy indicated that it might be engaged in spying. And after EU Ambassador to Moldova Janis Mezeiks posted a photo of his Chisinau office’s roof with no antennas on it, the Russian ambassador to Moldova was summoned to the Moldovan foreign ministry for explanations.

In the end, Chisinau demanded that Russia reduce the number of its embassy’s employees to ten diplomats and 15 administrative and technical employees, to bring them to parity with the employees of the Moldovan embassy in Moscow. Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolae Popescu explained this step by saying that Russian diplomats were suspected of being involved in "unfriendly" activities, "espionage," and attempts to destabilize the political situation in the country. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned the Moldovan side that Russia would not leave this unfriendly step unanswered.