Russian Ambassador Summoned to Moldovan MFA for Zakharova’s Words about Sandu

Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry to receive a note of protest over the statements of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova about the Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Zakharova, commenting on the new Moldovan election code, said that Moscow urged Chisinau to show common sense and not to take actions that may lead to aggravation of the situation in the country, damage bilateral relations and infringe the interests of the Russian-speaking population of Moldova. She also suggested that Sandu "had lied" when she promised to protect the rights of national minorities during the presidential campaign. "This is aggressive, unacceptable rhetoric. After Ms. Zakharova’s recent statements, the Russian Ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and was given a note of protest because of direct insults to the Moldovan President," said Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu on Jurnal TV. This is the third summoning of the Russian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry of Moldova in the last few months, in addition, in November, Chisinau expelled a representative of the diplomatic mission.