Representatives of the Moldovan opposition block Pobeda organized a protest action at the Chișinău airport on April 2, against the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Moldova. The Russian television channel Kanal 5 shared Telegram posts showing protesters holding Moldovan and Russian flags, as well as signs with inscriptions “Moldovans and Russians are brothers for eternity” and “Sandu is not equal to Moldova.”
Juri Witnjanski, an activist of the Pobeda block, believes that Moldova should strive for a dialogue with Russia instead of confrontation. According to RIA Novosti, Witnjanski stated: “Unfortunately, Moldova is now taking a path of escalating the conflict with Russia. At the same time, Moscow is showing a willingness to cooperate. We think that one should seek compromises, rather than deepening the contradictions. The expulsion of the diplomats destroys the diplomatic relations between our countries and that is a serious mistake of the Moldovan government.”
On March 31, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry had declared three Russian diplomats unwanted persons and had them expelled from the country. As Oleg Oserov, Russia’s ambassador to Chișinău, stated, one of the expelled diplomats was the co-chair of the United Control Commission, which is involved in the regulation of the Transnistria conflict.
Chișinău accuses the expelled diplomats of having helped Parliament member Alexandr Nesterowski, a member of the Pobeda faction, to flee the country to avoid prosecution. Nesterowski had been sentenced in absentia to a 12-year prison term on March 19 on charges of corruption. Russia’s embassy in Moldova denied the allegations of providing assistance to Nesterowski’s flight and Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, described the expulsion of the diplomats as unjustified and hostile and threatened a response.
In August 2023, Chișinău had expelled 45 employees of the Russian embassy. In retaliation, Moscow had denied entry to 18 Moldovan parliament members.