Russian official is barred from entering Moldova
The Deputy Head of the Analytical Center for the Government of the Russian Federation, Gleb Pokatovich, was detained at the Chisinau airport and deported from Moldova as reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the unrecognized Transnistrian Republic.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pokatovich arrived in Chisinau as part of an intergovernmental cooperation agreement between Transnistria and Russia for financial and economic audit purposes. He arrived in Chisinau on a morning flight, but at the airport, he was detained by Moldovan law enforcement agencies, the agency noted.
In late May, the Moldovan authorities announced five Russian diplomats as persona non grata. At the same time, Moldovan President Igor Dodon condemned the expulsion of Russian diplomats.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in commenting on the situation, said that it was "paradoxical, but demonstrative." According to her, the situation in fact "has nothing to do" with the work of the Russian diplomats, it rather demonstrates "the development of the situation in Moldova."
In response to the actions of the Moldovan authorities, Russia announced five employees of the Moldovan diplomatic mission in Moscow as persona non grata. They were ordered to leave the country within three days.