Russia Bans Moldovan MPs and Minister, and Expels Diplomat

After Russia announced on Tuesday evening that it had banned three pro-European Moldovan MPs and the Interior Minister, the targeted politicians said they had no plans to go there anyway.

The authorities in Moscow banned Interior Minister Ana Revenco and three deputies of the Action and Solidarity Party, PAS, Oazu Nantoi, Olesea Stamate and Lilian Carp.

Carp leads the Defence and Security Committee in Moldova's parliament, while Stamate is the head of the Legal Committee.

Carp claimed the decision to include him on the list of people prohibited from entering Russia "was taken out of frustration", and he had no plan to go there.

"I have no intention of going to the Russian Federation as long as Putin's criminal regime is there. This criminal regime has attacked Ukraine and cost that country tens of thousands of human lives and a destroyed economy, which will take years to recover," Carp said.

Nantoi also declared Russia's gesture unnecessary. "This is just a sign of impotence and only shows those who have not yet understood what is happening in Ukraine that we must secure ourselves in all possible ways and join the house of peace, which is the European Union," Nantoi stated.

In a Facebook post, Revenco said that she did not intend to go to Russia. "For 31 years, Russia has been constantly attacking the Republic of Moldova. They are continuously blackmailing us, abusing our citizens and manipulating them. It is destroying our economy and impoverishing our country. These diplomatic measures have become almost normal in this hybrid war that Russia is waging against our country," Revenco wrote on her Facebook page.

Moscow justified its decision, citing "anti-Russian" statements from Chisinau. Another reason was "Chisinau...