CHISINAU, April 19. /TASS/. Moldova has declared a Russian embassy employee persona non grata following the incident involving the head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, when he was refused entry into the country, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Filip Cojocaru told reporters on Wednesday.
"The decision was made to declare persona non grata on the territory of our country an employee of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Chisinau. Two more members of the embassy staff have been denied special access to the airport," Cojocaru said.
For his part, Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov said after visiting the Foreign Ministry that he had not received a coherent explanation as to why the decision was made. "The position that was voiced during the meeting is baffling. For reasons beyond our comprehension, the people invited to a congress of people’s diplomacy were banned from entering Moldova. We heard various remarks targeting this delegation, the embassy staff - unflattering, I would say. We asked for an explanation about what was inappropriate about the behavior of our employees. We have not received a clear answer, and are still waiting for an answer to these and other questions. We consider these actions as unfriendly moves against our country," said Vasnetsov.
Minnikhanov, who was denied entry to Moldova on Monday said that the Moldovan authorities declared him an undesirable person in the republic. According to him, he came to Chisinau at the invitation of representatives from the Moldovan parliament and the autonomous territory of Gagauzia, who had recently visited Tatarstan and planned an extensive program of joint work.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that the visit of the Russian delegation could influence the election of the head of Gagauzia, slated for April 30.
In October of last year, Moldova expelled a Russian embassy employee after an unidentified missile exploded in the area of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the move groundless and reiterated by expelling a Moldovan embassy employee.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia deemed the incident involving Minnikhanov as an unfriendly move aimed to undermine close cooperation between the countries.