​PRESIDENT DODON DECLINES 3-OF-9 PROPOSED AMBASSADORIAL CANDIDATURES

Moldovan President Igor Dodon has declined three of the nine candidacies for ambassadors proposed by the Government earlier this week.

Presidential Press Secretary Ion Ceban published in social networks the President’s answer to Prime Minister Pavel Filip, who had submitted to the head of state the list of candidates for the posts of ambassadors to the United States, Great Britain, Greece, Spain, Poland, Austria, Belarus, France and Ambassador to the United Nations.

The President declined the candidatures of Vladimir Ciobanu, Valeria Seican and Igor Clipii, whom the Government wants to appoint to Belarus, Austria and Great Britain. All of them, contrary to the rest 6 candidates, are not professional diplomats and are not employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. Vladimir Ciobanu was a presidential adviser, Valeria Seican – Director of the National Opera and Ballet Theater, and Igor Clipii – Deputy Secretary General of the Parliament.

The President wrote to the Prime Minister: “To exclude the possibility of a blockage in the diplomatic service of the Republic of Moldova, and proceeding from the constitutional powers pertaining to the revocation and appointment of ambassadors, I suggest holding extra consultations on this issue”.

As already reported by Infotag, earlier this week Prime Minister Pavel Filip submitted 9 candidacies for ambassadorial posts to the head of state for consideration and approval. That was done to first agree upon candidacies, so that to apply afterwards for agreements to the countries concerned.

During his official visit to Moscow in mid-January, President Igor Dodon stated he would refuse to appoint new ambassadors because the Government had refused to call home Moldova’s Ambassador to Romania Mihai Gribincea. The head of state demanded his revocation after the diplomat dared criticize the actions taken by the President to recall the Moldovan citizenship from former Romanian President Traian Basescu.

“Soon, the Government will be supposed to appoint 20 new ambassadors. I shall not sign presidential decrees, and we’ll see what they will be doing”, Dodon stated then.

According to the standard procedure, the Government must first adopt a Resolution on appointing ambassadors, after which must apply to the head of state for approving these appointments by means of presidential decrees. This routine has not been observed.