ROME, March 19Moldova considered that holding the FAO conference gives it the right, at its discretion, to determine the format of Russia’s participation at the session of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN in Chisinau; this attempt creates a dangerous precedent and is a continuation of the course towards the politicization of its activities, according to the statement received by the permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to FAO and other international organizations in Rome, Igor Golubovsky.
«The Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation is deeply concerned by the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova on March 19 about its reluctance to see the Russian delegation at the 34th session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe, which is to be held on the 14th May 17 this year in Chisinau,” the statement says.
The organization of such an event, the Russian mission reminded Moldova, imposes serious obligations on the host country to FAO as a whole and its member states.
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“The Moldovan side considered that holding the Regional Conference gives it the right, at its own discretion, to determine the format of Russia’s participation in this international event,” says Golubovsky’s commentary. He emphasized that Russia is a full member of FAO and one of the largest producers of food, agricultural goods and fertilizers not only in Europe, but also in the world as a whole.
“The attempt of the Moldovan authorities to unilaterally prescribe to Russia the format of its participation in the session creates a dangerous precedent for the work of the organization as a whole and is nothing more than a continuation of the course towards politicizing the activities of FAO in the context of a difficult situation with food security in the world,” said the permanent representative of the Russian Federation.
FAO, in response to a request, refused to comment on the statement of the Moldovan side.
On Tuesday, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Chisinau “is openly abusing its status as host of a UN event, which calls into question the ability of the Moldovan authorities to act in this capacity in the future.”
Earlier, the press service of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry reported that a protest was expressed to the Russian Ambassador in Chisinau Oleg Vasnetsov due to the opening of polling stations for the election of the President of the Russian Federation on the territory of Transnistria. For the same reason, the Foreign Ministry declared one of the Russian Embassy employees persona non grata. Vasnetsov later reported that the Moldavian Foreign Ministry told him that they did not want to see the Russian delegation at the session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which will be held in Chisinau in May.
The Moldovan authorities by declaring a Russian embassy employee persona non grata and refusing to accept The Russian delegation at the FAO session is “settling scores” with Moscow for the fact that Russian citizens living in Transnistria were given the opportunity to vote in the Russian presidential elections; these steps are part of Chisinau’s anti-Russian campaign and will not go unanswered, Zakharova said.