Rumania’s Ambassador to Moldova Daniel Ioniță described the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the unconstitutionality of the law that offered a special status to the Russian language as correct and normal. According to the diplomat, the High Court’s decision is an additional proof that the Romanian language should be known by all the citizens who live on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports.

“In the Declaration of Independence, the central element was namely the aspect of the language, culture, traditions. These elements made the separation from the former empire possible. Today’s decision recognizes this – the fact that the official language in the Republic of Moldova should be spoken equally by absolutely everyone. This does not mean lack of respect for those who speak another language. It does not mean lack of respect for the national minorities,” Daniel Ioniță stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.

Furthermore, the diplomat said the law on the functioning of languages on the territory of the Republic of Moldova would have further divided society according to such criteria as national identity and spoken language.

“A method should be found to keep society united. The language element should unite, not divide. The maintaining of this law would have meant return to the past,” noted Daniel Ioniță.

On January 21, the Constitutional Court decided that the law on the functioning of languages on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, which offered a special status to Russian alongside the official language, is unconstitutional. The law was adopted at the end of the previous session of Parliament by the votes of the MPs of the Party of Socialists and of the For Moldova Platform. The law provided that the Moldovan authorities were to ensure optimal conditions for the use and development of Russian as a language of interethnic communication. It obliged the state institutions to ensure, on request, the translation of documents and communiqués from Romanian into Russian.