Russia summons the ambassador of Moldova because of the “hostile” attitude towards Russian observers

Russia’s foreign ministry summoned Moldovan ambassador Lilian Darius on November 6 to protest Chisinau’s alleged “hostile and discriminatory” actions against Russian election observers, which Moldova rejected.

Pro-European President Maia Sandu won Nov. 3 by a margin of roughly 55.3% to 44.7%, despite what she called an “unprecedented” election interference with the support of Moscow.

The Russian– the friendly Party of Socialists, which supported Sanda’s opponent, Oleksandr StoyanogloOn November 5, they also declared that they do not consider Sanda to be legally elected and do not recognize her as president.

Two days after the second round, Stoinoglu conceded, saying that the results of the presidential election “showed that we lost, although here in Moldova we won.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that before the first round of voting and the constitutional referendum on joining the European Union, which took place on October 20, the authorities of Moldova “unreasonably” refused accreditation to five international observers from Russia.

The ministry claimed that before the second round of presidential elections on November 3, three Russian members of the mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) were refused entry to Moldova at Chisinau airport, despite the fact that they were accredited by the Central Moldovan center Electoral Commission.

The ministry does not disclose who the international observers from Russia are.

Moldova’s Foreign Ministry rejected Russia’s accusations, stressing that the presidential election met “all national and international standards,” according to previous reports by international observation missions.

“…we refute groundless criticism by representatives of the Russian authorities with the aim of manipulating public opinion”, – statement read.

“These clumsy attempts to question the legitimacy of the election are nothing more than a continuation of malicious interference in our internal affairs.”

The authorities of Moldova, independent observers and officials from the EU and the USA pointed to a campaign of harmful influence involving criminal networks and political groups associated with Russia. Moldovan lawmakers alleged that Moscow spent millions of dollars to support Stoianoglo.

Sandu has long insisted that the real adversary of her government and Moldova’s European path is the Kremlin, which is waging a hybrid war aimed at pushing Chisinau back into Moscow’s orbit, as Sandu described “fraud of an unprecedented scale.”