Moldova denies allegations it violates diplomatic conventions
6/3/2025 6:05
Moldova's Foreign Ministry
rejected allegations by Russia on Wednesday that it had violated
diplomatic conventions by declining to formally accept the
credentials of Moscow's ambassador.
The ex-Soviet state's pro-European president, Maia Sandu,
has made it clear she has not invited the ambassador to obtain
his accreditation because the Kremlin had been "disrespectful"
to Moldova. Sandu has denounced Russia's three-year-old war in
Ukraine and accused Moscow of trying to unseat her government.
The Moldovan Foreign Ministry said it had in no way violated
the 1960 Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations as it was
entirely up to the receiving country to decide how to accredit
diplomats.
"In this context, the Republic of Moldova rejects any
insinuation concerning the violation of the Vienna convention
and stands by its observance of international norms of
diplomatic relations," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry was responding to the summoning of Moldova's
ambassador in Moscow to the Russian Foreign Ministry earlier in
the day.
The Russian ministry said its ambassador, Oleg Ozerov, had
not been asked to present his credentials to Sandu despite being
in Moldova since last October.
Sandu told a television interviewer last month: "You cannot
invite a representative to present credentials when officials in
Moscow make such disrespectful statements about Moldova.
"This shows the Kremlin's disrespect for our country and its
sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and European Union
member Romania, has been buffeted by Russia's invasion of
Ukraine, with Russian missiles entering its airspace and
fragments of drones landing on its territory.
Sandu has championed the drive by Moldova, one of Europe's
poorest countries, to join the EU by 2030. She has repeatedly
accused Russia of interfering in Moldova's domestic affairs and
the staging of elections.
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