The official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, described the scandal that erupted in the media with the video recording at the Russian embassy in Chisinau and the accusations of the Moldovan authorities of interference in the internal affairs of the republic as vaudeville, TASS reports.
"Chisinau tried to spin the topic with some videos around the Russian embassy, to contact the Russian ambassador about alleged interference in the internal affairs of Moldova - or already with the help of (Moldovan President Maia) Sandu in Romania?. This is just vaudeville. Commenting on the extracted footage and video clips of Sandu is a waste of time, the diplomat writes on her Telegram channel. But here's what I want to remind everyone: providing assistance to Russian citizens is the direct responsibility of Russian diplomats. "It was, is and will be like this," Zakharova commented.
We recall that on March 31, Moldova accused Russia of helping a pro-Russian MP flee to Transnistria.
The case of Alexander Nesterovsky is another in which the pro-European government of Moldova has accused Russia of interfering in its political landscape. Moscow denies the accusations.
For its part, the Russian embassy stated that the accusations of interference in the MP's case are unfounded and unacceptable. It said it had called on Moldovan authorities to "refrain from provocative speculation".
Moldova's security service released a video showing Nesterovski entering the embassy in Chisinau on March 18, the day before a court sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
Moldovan authorities earlier said they had detained Evgenia Gutul, the pro-Russian leader of Moldova's Gagauzia region, on charges of illegal political financing as she tried to leave the country. Gutul also said the charges were politically motivated.
A court then ordered her to be held in custody for a minimum of 30 days.