The Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Chisinau Oleg Vasnetsov was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration in connection with press reports about the opening of a ‘representative office’ of Transnistria in Moscow, IPN reports.

According to the Ministry, Oleg Vasnetsov said it is a nonprofit organization that will provide legal assistance services to the inhabitants of the Transnistrian region and not only. In virtue of the Russian legislation, this was registered with the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration requested to clarify the status of the foundation for the development of social and cultural relations “Transnistria” through the agency of Moldova’s Embassy in Moscow. According to Transnistrian press reports, the leaders of the Transnistrian region consider this a ‘diplomatic representative office’ or an ‘official representative office’.

“The status of ‘official representative office’ has a defining significance for the context of the diplomatic relations and damage is thus caused to the bilateral Moldovan-Russian relations. Such actions undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova. The administration of the Russian Federation openly and unequivocally pleaded in favor of respecting the aforementioned principles not only once,” the Ministry said in a press release.

The Ministry calls on the Russian authorities to make sure the internal and international legal frameworks are equally respected in light of the held discussions so as to avoid any confusion and speculations that can affect the bilateral relations between the two countries.