The competent bodies of Moldova seized the lists of signatures for recognizing the Transnistrian region that Russian officials intended to take to Moscow by a special charter flight, IPN reports, quoting a communiqué from the Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.
As regards Russian officials’ intention to convey boxes containing ‘lists of signatures for recognizing Transnistria’ by the charter flight, the Ministry says the given lists were confiscated by the competent Moldovan bodies in order to determine their legality in compliance with the legation. The signatures were collected in the Transnistrian region in April and at the beginning of May.
The communiqué represents a commentary of the Ministry’s Press Service, which says that the private visit paid to Moldova by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who was accompanied by a group of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly and a member of the Government, didn’t pass without provocative statements applying to Moldova.
Despite the messages to refrain from statements that can affect the bilateral relations, transmitted to the Russian side by diplomatic ways before this visit, the Russian official made again appraisals and erroneous comments about the sovereign development choice of Moldova.
The Ministry reminds that Russia’s official position, confirmed repeatedly, is based on the respect for Moldova’s sovereign choice and the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict by observing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova.
The communiqué says the Moldovan authorities have consistently pleaded for a constructive and pragmatic dialogue with Russia in all the areas of common interest, especially on sensitive issues concerning the comprehensive resolution of the Transnistrian dispute.
It also notes that the recent actions and statements of Rogozin are counterproductive and do not contribute to making progress in settling the Transnistrian conflict.
According to the international media, on May 10 Dmitrii Rogozin’s plane that was returning from Transnistria to Russia was requested to leave the airspace of Ukraine and Romania for the reason that there were persons sanctioned by the EU on board. But Rogozin wasn’t aboard that plane. Thus, only his delegation had to interrupt their way to Moscow. Most probably Rogozin returned to Russia by an ordinary flight. On a social networking site, Rogozin said that if Romania bans him from flying through its territory, next time he will enter its airspace by a warplane. The Romanian authorities asked for explanations from the Russian authorities over these statements.
