PRO-EUROPEAN MAJORITY DECIDES NOT TO SEND MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO SAINT PETERSBURG…

Delegation from Moldova will not take part in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States to be held in Saint Petersburg (Russia) next week, Parliament Chairman Andrian Candu stated to the press on Thursday, following the today’s working meeting of the Parliament Permanent Bureau.

“With an account of our Note of protest, sent to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently, and of the abuses by Russian state institutions with respect to Moldovan state officials, the Permanent Bureau has taken such a decision today”, announced the Speaker.

He said that certain discussions were held with the Russian authorities, including with the Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs/State Secretary Grigory Karasin.

“A certain positive reaction followed from the Russian side. Moscow is carefully examining the incidents described in our Note. However, we haven’t received an official reply from Moscow yet. That’s why the Parliament Permanent Bureau decided that in this situation it would be untimely for the Moldovan delegation to take part in this CIS Parliamentary Assembly session”, said Andrian Candu.

He stressed that the decision was taken proceeding from a concrete situation, “but this does not indeed mean that Moldova is boycotting the CIS Parliamentary Assembly’s work as a whole”.

“We will send letters to the heads of all delegations and to the receiving party – to the Chairwoman of the Council of the CIS PA [who is the Chairperson of the Council of the Federation – the upper chamber of the Russian bicameral legislative assembly], to Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and to the CIS Secretariat, in which we will explain the situation and the reasons of our not coming”, said Speaker Andrian Candu.

According to him, some Moldovan deputies have stated an intention to go to the Saint Petersburg Session, and “they can indeed do this, but all at their own expense. There shall be no official delegation and therefore shall be no financing from the Budget”.