The Foreign Ministry is advising Russian citizens to avoid travel to Moldova due to alleged “discrimination” and “harassment” from Moldovan border guards.
In a statement released Friday, the ministry accused security personnel at the airport in Chisinau of subjecting Russians to “humiliating searches and checks” that were often followed by denials of entry under “flimsy pretexts.”
Chisinau International Airport staff also “artificially delayed” inspections of Russian passengers, forcing them to miss outbound flights, the ministry claimed.
The Foreign Ministry said some of its citizens had undergone “forced detention at the border and criminal prosecution without convincing evidence.”
It also claimed that Moldovan authorities had ignored diplomatic requests to gain access to Russian citizens, making it “almost impossible to provide consular support.”
“In this regard, the Russian Foreign Ministry strongly recommends that Russian citizens take into account the mentioned risks and, if possible, refrain from traveling to the Republic of Moldova,” the statement read.
Moldova’s Foreign Ministry later rejected the list of accusations, saying they “misrepresent the realities” in the country.
“The Republic of Moldova is a safe country for visitors. There are no security risks that would justify travel alerts of the kind outlined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said in a statement sent to The Moscow Times.
It said that Moldovan authorities do not discriminate against foreign citizens and “follow international standards and with full respect for fundamental human rights.”
Moldova, a landlocked country of 2.4 million with a Russian-speaking minority, began formal negotiations to join the European Union in 2024.
Authorities in the country have accused the Kremlin of spending hundreds of millions of dollars to interfere in its elections.
Mack Tubridy contributed reporting.
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