The Presidential Office reacted to the recent tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian dimension. “Any action that can lead to the worsening of the rather difficult situation in the region is very dangerous and we are convinced and hope that the two friend countries of the Republic of Moldova can solve the misunderstandings and conflicts by dialogue, by peaceful and diplomatic ways,” presidential adviser Maxim Lebedinski wrote in a posting on Facebook, which is quoted by IPN.
The Presidential Office states its concerns about the difficulties that could be experienced by the Moldovan citizens and exporters that cross the territory of Ukraine as the first signals in this regard already appeared.
Also, the Presidential Office analyzes very attentively the situation on the border between Moldova and Ukraine, on the Transnistrian segment, so as to exclude and prevent any provocation. The secretary of the Supreme Security Council is permanently in contact with the managers of the responsible institutions. “We hope this worrisome episode will not have serious consequences for regional security and a peaceful political solution will be found to it,” runs the posting.
The Kerch Strait incident occurred on November 25, 2018 when a Russian cargo ship stopped three Ukrainian Navy vessels from passing under the Kerch Strait Bridge. Russia accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its territorial waters. Since Ukrainian Navy refused to leave its waters when being warned, Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels off the coast of annexed Crimea, injuring three servicemen. Ukraine described the incident as a provocation. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed a decree on the martial law and Parliament approved it the next day, imposing the martial law in the regions that border Russia and the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova for a 30-day period.
