Lawmakers react to unannounced visit of Russian defense minister to Tiraspol

Unaffiliated MP Mihai Godea demanded that Foreign Minister Iurie Leanca should summon the Russian Ambassador in Chisinau to seek explanations about the unannounced visit of the Russian Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdiukov to Transnistria region. Speaker Marian Lupu said that this visit should have met certain protocol norms, Info-Prim Neo reports. “It’s not a private or family visit. Thus, it should have met certain protocol and diplomatic norms. But I will pronounce on the issue when I have all the details,” stated Marian Lupu. Mihai Godea believes that the Russian minister’s unannounced visit to Moldova represents a gesture of defiance. “It is a serious case. We have foreign troops on our territory. The commander of these troops comes to our country without informing the authorities. It is an unordinary case and Moldova should react with promptitude if there is state power in this country,” he stressed. He also said that it is an unfriendly gesture towards Moldova that is not in line with the announced strategic partnership between the Moldovan and Russian authorities. On April 12, Anatoly Serdiukov, accompanied by the former commander of the 14th Army Yevgeny Evnevich, landed at the Shkolinyi Airport in Odessa, from where they traveled to Tiraspol. According to the Russian press, the minister paid a short visit to Tiraspol and visited the military facilities of Russia in the Transnistrian region.