Diplomatic Briefing
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Newsline: Moldova summons Russia ambassador over blackout
Russian Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned by the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following the outage that occurred amidst Russian attacks on the Ukrainian power grid. “Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have left Moldova in the dark, again. Massive blackouts across the country, including Chisinau and the @MoldovaMFA [Foreign Ministry] building. I instructed that Russia’s ambassador be summoned for explanations,” Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu noted in a Twitter post. (https://www.teletrader.com/moldova-summons-russia-ambassador-over-outage/news/details/59019860?ts=1669226818236) Parts of the country were left without electricity earlier today after it was reported that Russian shelling in Ukraine caused the outage. Two mobile phone networks were also reported as unavailable.
Newsline: Moldova expels Russian embassy employee
Moldova declared a Russian embassy employee in the capital Chisinau persona non grata on Monday, and Russian news agencies quoted Moscow as saying it would respond to the decision. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry did not identify the employee in a statement issued after the Russian ambassador was summoned and informed that the employee must leave Moldova. (https://news.yahoo.com/moldova-declares-russian-embassy-representative-161452645.html) Russian news agencies quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying Moscow would respond to Moldova’s move but gave no further details.
Newsline: Moldova summons Russian envoy over threats
Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the interim chargé d’affaires of the Russian Federation in Chisinau on September 1 to explain the statements of the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, who previously stated that Moscow “will do everything to protect the interests of the Russian-speaking population of the Republic of Moldova”, Deschide.md reported, quoting a Telegram post from Russian Smotri Media. Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov warned that “any actions that will endanger the security of our soldiers [in Transdnistria] will be interpreted, in accordance with international law, as an attack on the Russian Federation.” (https://www.intellinews.com/moldova-summons-russian-diplomat-over-lavrov-threat-255317/) Moldova’s President Maia Sandu responded to Lavrov, saying it is Russia that has constantly launched provocations in Moldova.
Newsline: Palestine slams Moldova decision to move embassy to Jerusalem
The Palestinian foreign ministry has condemned the decision by acting Moldovan President Pavel Filip to shift his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “The decision is a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy and the UN resolutions,” the ministry said in a statement on June 12. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/palestine-slams-moldova-decision-move-embassy-jerusalem-190612134959410.html) The Moldovan decision came after a political crisis in the Eastern European country, which on June 9 saw the top court revoke President Igor Dodon’s powers and appoint former Prime Minister Filip as interim president. He then swiftly dissolved the country’s parliament and called a snap election to be held in September. Announcing the embassy move on June 11, Filip said the decision was “a long overdue commitment to support our allies” and that he wanted it to be respected “regardless of what happens after the snap elections”.
Newsline: Moldovan President Refuses to Allow U.S. Embassy Expansion
Moldovan President Igor Dodon refused to permit an expansion of the American embassy, complaining that he doesn’t want to be pulled into a tug-of-war between the U.S. and Russia in Europe’s poorest country. Dodon, who’s named Russian leader Vladimir Putin as the most influential foreign leader in Moldova, said he won’t sign a law approved by parliament allowing the U.S. to move its embassy to a bigger site in the capital, Chisinau. The move would make the complex more than five times bigger than Russia’s. Dodon now risks being suspended for a fourth time. “I’m taking this risk and citizens should know that I was suspended because I refused to give land to the Americans for the embassy,” Dodon told local television on July 26. “We want to have good relations with the U.S., but not if they try to use us in their fight against Russia. We won’t accept that as we don’t want to be cannon fodder.”
Newsline: Moldova recalls ambassador from Moscow as dispute escalates
Moldova recalled its ambassador to Russia for consultations in response to the harassment and intimidation by Russian authorities of Moldovan politicians and officials, the Moldovan foreign ministry said on Monday. Moldova and Russia have been embroiled in a series of rows this year, including tit-for-tat expulsions of each other’s diplomats in May and Moldova declaring the Russian deputy prime minister persona non grata in August. The Chisinau government says its officials are being mistreated partly to derail a Moldovan investigation into an alleged Russian-led money laundering operation. Russia has accused Moldova of “some openly anti-Russian actions”. In announcing the ambassador’s recall, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website: “We will look for ways to overcome the current situation so that in the future such actions are avoided, which can spoil Moldovan-Russian relations, which the Moldovan side wants to be friendly, trusting and based on respect for each other.” Ex-Soviet Moldova is politically divided between a pro-Western government, which favors closer integration with the European Union, and Russian-backed President Igor Dodon.
Newsline: Moldova expels five Russian diplomats
Moldova’s foreign ministry today expelled five Russian diplomats, ordering Moscow to remove them in a move that outraged the country’s pro-Russian president. The foreign ministry declared the five personae non grata, giving the relevant note to the Russian ambassador to Moldova Farit Mukhametshin on Monday afternoon, a foreign ministry aide, Artur Sarbu, told AFP, without explaining why they were being expelled. Mukhametshin confirmed that he received the note, but declined to comment further. The move comes amid tensions between the country’s pro- Russian president and his West-leaning government, and follows allegations that a Moldovan diplomat passed state secrets to an attaché of the Russian Embassy. The foreign ministry’s note gives the five Russian diplomats 72 hours to leave the country, Moldova’s President Igor Dodon said, condemning the move by the country’s EU- leaning government. “The government has taken an outrageous act toward the Russian Embassy,” he wrote on facebook. “I am deeply outraged of this unfriendly step by the representatives of the Moldovan diplomatic corps and I categorically condemn it.” “This was done most likely on orders from the West,” he added. “This crude step will not be left without negative consequences.” The five names have not been public however the news follows accusations in March that an aide to the military attaché of the Russian embassy, Alexander Grudin, received secret information from former Moldovan lawmaker Yury Bolbochan. Bolbochan was arrested in March and charged with treason after a video was published of him meeting Grudin.
http://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/moldova-expels-five-russian-diplomats/1062839
Newsline: Sweden to close six embassies, open 10 new ones
The Swedish government said it would close six Swedish embassies, including five in Europe, this year and open 10 new embassies. Embassies facing closure were based in European Union members Bulgaria, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Slovenia. “Within the framework of the close cooperation that exists between the EU member states, there is scope for developing new forms for maintaining bilateral contacts in future,” Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. Meanwhile, Sweden is to upgrade its missions in Albania, Kosovo, Georgia and Moldova to embassies. The sixth embassy to be closed was in Dakar, Senegal, while section offices were to be upgraded in Senegal’s West African neighbours Burkina Faso, Liberia and Mali as well as Rwanda, Bolivia and Cambodia.
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