MAE labels Moldovan PM's statements about Romania as "absolutely unacceptable"

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has labelled as "absolutely unacceptable" the recent statements made by the Moldovan Prime Minister, Ion Chicu, about Romania, on Friday, on a social network. "The denigrating statements about Romania posted today, May 22, 2020, on a social network, by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Mr Ion Chicu, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are absolutely unacceptable," reads a release of MAE on Friday. According to the MAE, the statements made by PM Ion Chicu are "as more inadequate" as, in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Romania has offered substantial support to the Republic of Moldova, proving its solidarity with the citizens of the Republic of Moldova during a very difficult period. MAE said the respective statements showed "a deep lack of respect" to Romania and the privileged bilateral relation of Strategic Partnership for the European Integration of the Republic of Moldova. "MAE highlighted that the implementation of the reforms under the Association Agreement with the European Union should not be an obligation for the Republic of Moldova, but the guarantee of prosperity for its citizens. The welfare of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova cannot be ensured through public statements using such primitive language, but only through efforts made to build a rule of law state with democratic institutions. As we proved including during this time, Romania will continue to be a support pillar for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova in the future," said the same release. The Ministry also said these aspects were brought to the knowledge of the Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Bucharest, who was called by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, to the headquarters of the Ministry, for a discussion with the Secretary of State Dan Neculaescu. Minister Aurescu also had a phone conversation on the same topic with its counterpart in Chisinau. The Moldovan PM on Friday denied the criticisms brought by a Romanian MEP to the manner in which Moldova manages the current coronavirus crisis, and he criticized Romania in his turn. In his reply, Ion Chicu said Romania is the most corrupt country in Europe and that Suceava only has "half of the number of COVID-9 infections in the entire" Republic of Moldova. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Cristina Zaharia)