The operation to set free the two Moldovan pilots who had been held hostage in Afghanistan since 2015 was carried out for political reasons, said Doctor of History Ruslan Shevchenko. According to him, it can be considered that the two Moldovans haven’t been released as the Moldovan authorities do not know where the two are and do not have access to them, IPN reports.
“We can now say that they haven’t been set free as they are still held in places about which we are not aware. At least our officials didn’t gain access to the hospital or the place where the two are now and cannot discuss with them. This shows the operation was conducted for purely electoral, political reasons and this has nothing to do with the wish the set free the pilots. A purely political goal is pursued – to show that only the President defends citizens’ interests and the fate of these pilots depends only on him,” Ruslan Shevchenko stated in the talk show “Issue of the Day” on Canal 2 channel.
The Doctor of History noted the Russian authorities haven’t yet presented an official version concerning the two Moldovan pilots and they do not know what to tell to the Moldovan authorities. The Russian authorities do not say where the two pilots are and what their state of health is. The information about the pilots is hidden intentionally, but this operation most probably wouldn’t have been possible without the involvement of Russian secret services.
According to Ruslan Shevchenko, this situation related to the freeing of Moldovan pilots is an electoral action of President Igor Dodon.
Former deputy minister of the interior Gennady Cosovan said the restricting of the Moldovan authorities’ access to the pilots is a flagrant violation of the international norms because namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the state institution that holds talks and this should know about the fate of Moldovans abroad the first.
Gennady Cosovan does not rule out the possibility that the two pilots could return to Moldova after the February 24 parliamentary elections.
In a press briefing on February 11, President Igor Dodon 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. President Dodon said 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.
