Moldova expels Russian embassy employee

The MFA of Moldova summoned the Russian Ambassador to the Republic, Oleg Vasnetsov, and informed him that one of the employees of the Russian diplomatic mission in Chisinau had been declared persona non grata, reported Reuters agency, citing a representative of the government of the republic.

According to the representative, this decision was made because of the actions of the embassy staff in relation to the Moldovan border guards, who this week denied entry into the country to the head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov.

Two more employees of the embassy were deprived of special access to the airport, said the press secretary of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry, Filip Cojocaru, transmits TASS.

Former Prime Minister of Moldova Dorin Recean urged restrict the movement of two Russian embassy employees after Minnikhanov was denied entry. Government spokesman Daniel Voda said that employees of the Russian diplomatic mission would be deprived of special passes to the Chisinau airport for “improper behavior” during the landing of the plane with the Russian delegation.

On April 17, the Moldovan authorities declared Minnikhanov an undesirable person. Then the deputy of the Moldovan parliament, Alexander Sukhodolsky, said that, despite the official invitation to the congress “Friendship of Peoples – 2023” (timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Russian Community of the Republic of Moldova), which is held for the first time in the Moldovan city of Comrat, upon arrival in Chisinau, the head of Tatarstan “even they didn’t let me get off the plane” and handed me a document with a refusal to enter.