The chief of Moldova’s diplomatic service made it clear that the Republic of Moldova will not expel Russian diplomats, as Romania, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and other countries did after the Bucha massacre. Nicu Popescu said the diplomatic service has a wide range of measures by which a state can show its disapproval with the actions of a country. In the case of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Moldova chose to firmly condemn the war and to subscribe to a part of the sanctions imposed by the West, IPN reports.
After the Bucha massacre, tens of states expelled Russian diplomats working at embassies or members of staff of Russia’s consular offices. The EU expelled 19 Russian diplomats, Romania – 10, Germany – 40 Russian diplomats suspected of espionage. Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu said the Republic of Moldova is very vocal at the international level in the condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“There is a wide range of diplomatic instruments by which the state can express their disagreement and can condemn particular actions. In this regard, the Republic of Moldova clearly, firmly and daily condemns the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. This war is absolutely illegitimate, unjustified and we speak about this permanently. We were also present at the UN when Russia was condemned. The Republic of Moldova is a co-author and, together with Ukraine, the U.S. and the EU, expressed clear, trenchant stances at the UN, the OSCE,” Nicu Popescu stated in the program “Secrets of the Power” on JurnalTV channel.
The official noted that the Republic of Moldova partially subscribed to the sanctions imposed by the West against Russia, primarily in the financial-banking sector.
“The states have different packages of actions and sanctions. The sanctions of the U.S. are not identical to those imposed by the EU or the UK. The goal of the EU when imposing sanctions is to cause more costs to the Russian Federation than to the member states of the European Union. In the financial-banking sector, the Republic of Moldova subscribed to the international sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation in this area,” stated Nicu Popescu.
Earlier, President Maia Sandu also said that Moldova will not allow Russia to avoid the international sanctions through Moldovan banks. Moldova obeys all the restrictions imposed against Russia by SWIFT and by the payment card network processors Visa and MasterCard.
