The awards are not asked, rejected or worn, co-chairwoman of the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR) Ana Gutu said, commenting on the conferring of awards by President Nicolae Timofti on a number of MPs and ministers, IPN reports.

The Liberal-Reformist lawmaker told a news conference that this was the President’s decision and six members of the PLR received state awards.

“As regards the Order of the Republic conferred on me, my file was submitted to the President in 2012. I was put forward by the university’s senate because it was my jubilee and the 20th anniversary of the university’s foundation. The award came in two years,” stated Ana Gutu.

Last week, President Nicolae Timofti signed a decree to confer state awards on a group of MPs, ministers, and high-ranking public servants who decisively contributed to the achievement of Moldova’s major foreign policy goal – the political association and economic integration with the EU. The conferring of these awards caused negative reactions in society.