The parliamentary delegation of Moldova will not take part in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States that will take place in Saint Petersburg next week, Speaker of Parliament Andrian Candu announced after the meeting of the Standing Bureau. The Socialist MPs consider this decision is incorrect and intend to go to the event at their own expense, IPN reports.
The Speaker told the press that given the note sent to the Russian authorities and the abuses stipulated in it and the fact that no official answer came from Moscow so far, the participation by the Moldovan delegation in the CIS Parliamentary Assembly is inappropriate. “After discussions and consultations, the Standing Bureau decided that the Moldovan Parliament’s delegation will not take part in the meetings of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly that will be held in Saint Petersburg next week,” stated Andrian Candu, noting that Moldova does not boycott the activity of the CIS and will only not take part in the announced event.
The official also said that differing opinions were stated in the meeting of the Standing Bureau, but the decision was taken. The MPs who intend to take part in this event can do it at their own expense. Official letters will be sent, including to the hosts of the event and the secretariat of the CIS Parliamentary Assembly, to inform about the Moldovan delegation’s non-participation.
The head of the Socialist parliamentary group Zinaida Grecheanyi said the decision of the Standing Bureau is incorrect and she didn’t support it. She does not know what happened at diplomatic level, but there is a decision by which the composition of the delegation that was to take part in the meeting in Saint Petersburg was approved. The Socialist MPs will go to the event even if they have to cover the travel expenses themselves. The CIS is a very important community and Moldova has always taken part in such events. Moreover, such a decision should have been taken in Parliament, not in the meeting of the Standing Bureau.
