Photo: Natalia Muschinkina
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called the statements of Moldovan President Maya Sandu about Victory Day inappropriate and bordering on a lack of tact.
The speaker noted that the solemn events held in Moldova on May 9 once again confirmed that the people of the country remember the exploits of Soviet soldiers and home front workers who defeated fascism. Zakharova mentioned the many thousands of actions with the laying of flowers at the memorials to the soldiers-liberators throughout Moldova.
Thus, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation noted that in the capital of the country – Chisinau – the march of the action “Immortal Regiment” numbered about 30 thousand participants. She added that the mass celebration took place in other cities of the republic.
According to Zakharova, many participants of the festivities ignored the ban imposed by the authorities on wearing the St. George ribbon, RIA Novosti reports.
At the same time, the speaker called the position taken by the President of Moldova an alarming signal, which indicates that the Moldovan leadership is moving away “from the accumulated positive in Russian-Moldovan relations.”
In this context, Zakharova singled out Sandu’s “unfriendly statements”, which were uttered on May 20 in an interview with local media. Responding to the message of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the head of Moldova said: “We do not need congratulations, we need peace.”