The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova decided not to allow official representatives of the Russian Federation to attend the FAO Regional Conference for Europe in person and to limit the participation to embassy level or online format. The conference will take place on May 14-17 in Chisinau, IPN reports.
According to a press release of the Ministry, the decision was taken due to the Russian Federation’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, which blatantly violated the UN Charter, caused multiple crises and undermined food security internationally.
The agenda of the meeting will include topical issues related to agriculture, food safety, digitalization in the sustainable use of land, forests and water resources.
The format of the event combines in-person and online participation, given FAO’s international commitments and the conference’s working methods.
The Regional Conference for Europe of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is at its 34th edition.
Russia’s Ambassador in Chisinau Oleg Vasnetsov told TASS news agency that Moldova’s Foreign Ministry said that it doesn’t want to see the Russian delegation at the upcoming FAO session in Chisinau. The latest expulsion of a Russian diplomat weakens the potential of the diplomatic mission in Moldova. This negatively affects the state of the relations between Russia and Moldova.
In a comment, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova noted that Chisinau’s decisions are part of the anti-Russian campaign of Moldova’s leaders and represent another confirmation of their way towards the complete destruction of the Russian-Moldovan relations, which have deep historical roots. The Russian Ministry describes Chisinau’s actions as ‘settling of scores’ for the fact that Russian citizens living in Transnistria were given the opportunity to express their will in the Russian presidential election.
According to Maria Zakharova, Chisinau is flagrantly abusing its status as host of a United Nations event, which calls into question the ability of the Moldovan authorities to act in this capacity in the future. “Chisinau's actions will not go unanswered by Russia,” Maria Zakharova said.
