Candidate for Russian ambassador identified

A candidate to fill the vacant post of Moldova's Ambassador to Russia has been identified and his name will be made public by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in due time, revealed Prime Minister Vlad Filat. While abstaining from giving names, Filat said the candidate is a professional with a rich diplomatic experience, and is not politically affiliated. “The identified candidate has the requisite skills to assume this very important office. As we agreed, he will not be a member of any political party. He is a career diplomat and has the necessary experience”, said Filat after a convention of Moldova's ambassadors and consuls in Chisinau today. The post fell vacant In late April when the Government recalled Ambassador Andrei Neguta from Moscow after he stated in an interview that a premature withdrawal of Russian troops from the Transnistrian region would pose a threat to both Moldova and the entire region. Among the names mentioned in the press as possible replacements are Liberal-Democrat MP Chiril Lucinschi, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Popov and businessman Mihai Diacov, the cousin of Democrat Dumitru Diacov.