The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration where he was handed over a note of protest in connection with the delay in granting access to the Moldovan delegation that has been in Moscow since February 11 to citizens Lionel Buruiană and Mihai Crihan, who were recently released after being held hostage in Afghanistan and were transported to the capital of Russia, IPN reports.
In a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration said that in spite of the international law norms and provisions on consular relations and diplomatic relations stipulated in the Venice Convention and in the Consular Convention with Moldova, the Russian authorities continue to delay granting access to the Moldovan delegation to the Moldovan citizens, refuse to communicate information about their whereabouts and state of health. The Republic of Moldova describes such an attitude as deliberate provocation that seriously affects the bilateral relations. The justification that the Moldovan citizens are in the custody of an NGO and the Russian Federation is not involved in this process, provided by employees of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is unfounded.
“The Russian ambassador was communicated the concern that this situation risks becoming a dramatic one, with inadmissible political interferences, through which particular political persons from Moldova try to use it for political purposes,” runs the press release.
President Igor Dodon in a press briefing on February 11 announced that the two Moldovan citizens who had been held hostage in Afghanistan since 2015 were set free. These are now at a hospital in Moscow and at the end of this week will be brought to Moldova. The release was possible owing to the involvement of the Russian administration following an approach made by him. After the briefing, Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu on a social networking site wrote that President Dodon wanted the two Moldovans to return home in the election campaign and this situation is used cynically. The Moldovan hostages were to get home four months ago, when the Moldovan au theories completed the negotiations, but everything got blocked on the last moment. Later, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced it will examine the last public statements about the involvement of forces for the purpose of delaying the process of releasing the Moldovan pilots held hostage in Afghanistan.
