Russian Civic Chamber Official Denied Entry To Moldova At Chisinau Airport

The Russian Civic Chamber's media committee chair Alexander Malkevich told Sputnik on Wednesday that he was stopped by Moldovan border patrol from entering the country upon flying into its capital earlier in the day

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2019) The Russian Civic Chamber's media committee chair Alexander Malkevich told Sputnik on Wednesday that he was stopped by Moldovan border patrol from entering the country upon flying into its capital earlier in the day.

"Upon arriving at the [Chisinau] airport, I was detained and questioned for a long time [about an hour] and was told that my presence in Moldova was not welcome and that I would be escorted out of the country on the next flight," Malkevich said.

Malkevich said he had flown to Moldova on vacation.

The Moldovan border police confirmed that Malkevich had been denied entry to the republic, saying that the reason for the refusal was his inability to state the purpose of his visit.

"We confirm the fact that a Russian citizen was refused entry to Moldova today. The reason is that the person did not fulfill the conditions for permission to cross the state border. At border control, he could not state the purpose of the visit to the republic," the border police told Sputnik.

It added that Malkevich had been sent back via the Chisinau-Moscow flight.

Moldova has previously denied entry to Russian journalists. In February, Moldova's border police denied entry to Russian NTV and Rossiya-1 broadcasters' crews, saying that the purpose of their visit and duration of stay in the country were not provided. The journalists were sent back to Moscow.