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Moldova blasts Russian ambassador’s appearance at Transnistrian inauguration

The department also called the past elections in the unrecognized republic illegitimate

CHISINAU, December 18. /TASS/. Moldovan Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry said it was an unfriendly gesture that the Russian ambassador attended the inauguration of the president of Transnistria, an unrecognized republic in Moldova.

"The so-called presidential elections in the Transnistrian region are illegitimate and run counter to the constitutional foundations of Moldova," the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. "The participation of the head of Russia’s diplomatic mission in these activities is regarded by the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry as an unfriendly action."

According to the ministry, the presence of foreign diplomats at events that "can be used for propaganda purposes" does not make a positive contribution to the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict or to the development of bilateral relations based on mutual respect."

Earlier, the chairman of the pardons commission at Moldova’s presidential administration, Ion Guzun, suggested on his Facebook that Russian Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov be declared persona non grata because of his attendance of the inauguration of Vadim Krasnoselsky as the president of Transnistria. The press service of the Moldovan presidency told TASS that was the official’s personal opinion, rather than the official stance of the presidency.

Krasnoselsky was re-elected on December 12, and his inauguration took place on December 17. Earlier this year, the Moldovan government called on other states to avoid sending observers to the elections in Transnistria and to refrain from contacts with Tiraspol. Chisinau said these steps would be regarded "as a challenge to the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Moldova.

After that, Russian political scientist Natalia Narochnitskaya, member of the Public Chamber of Russia Vladimir Zhuravlev, member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights Alexander Brod, First Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Yegorov, and a number of other public figures were denied entry into the country. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia would respond to these steps and expressed hope that Moldova would stop the unfriendly treatment of Russian public figures.

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