The Russian Ambassador to Moldova was handed a note of protest; Estonia is expelling the Russian diplomat

Because of the Russian presidential elections, at polling stations opened in Transnistria, the Russian Ambassador to Moldova, Oleg Vasnetsov, was handed a note of protest.

One of the employees of the Russian embassy has been declared persona non grata, he will be forced to leave the country, the press service of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry reported in Telegram on March 19.

How writes dw, citing official information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this step was caused by “a protest in connection with the organization of the presidential elections of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova, contrary to the position of the Moldovan authorities.”

In 2024, Moldova banned the holding of Russian elections anywhere outside the Russian Embassy, ​​so only one polling station operated in Chisinau, recalls the TASS agency. According to him, despite this restriction, during the 2024 Russian presidential elections, six more polling stations were opened on the territory of Transnistria, “where over 250 thousand citizens of the Russian Federation live.”

In 2021, when elections at various levels were held in Russia from September 17 to 19, including elections of State Duma deputies, 30 polling stations functioned on the territory of Moldova, including in Transnistria.

Meanwhile, Radio Liberty reportsthat Estonia is expelling from the country an employee of the Russian embassy with diplomatic status, who was declared persona non grata.

The charge d’affaires of the Russian Embassy was summoned to the Estonian Foreign Ministry and was handed the corresponding diplomatic note, Delfi reports. The attorney was told that Tallinn was not going to tolerate Russian activities “directed against the independence and sovereignty of Estonia.” The agency also called for an end to “hybrid operations coordinated by Russian special services against the security of the Republic of Estonia.”

To the TASS agency at the Russian Foreign Ministry statedthat Moscow will respond to Tallinn’s decision to declare the Russian diplomat persona non grata.

Source link