The Russian Journalist Who Was to Interview President Dodon Was Stopped from Entering Moldova

Moldovan Border Police confirmed to Media Azi that journalist Daria Aslamova was not allowed to enter the country. According to the Border Police Press Service, the journalist did not meet the conditions required for crossing the state border, having concealed the real purpose of the visit.
The journalist, in turn, claims she had a written agreement from President Igor Dodon on the interview for this publication. “When I was in Bucharest, I was called from the press service [of the presidential administration – editor’s note] and told that my entry to Moldova was blocked,” she told KP.
The journalist also complained that the Border Police officers were aggressive with her. The Border Police, in turn, claimed that “during the state border crossing control procedure Border Police officers acted in accordance with institutional competencies, without disciplinary misconduct.”

President Igor Dodon was indignant at the fact that the Russian journalist was not allowed to enter the country. Dodon believes this situation is “a new anti-Russian manifestation on the part of the Moldovan Government” aimed at affecting the Moldovan-Russian dialogue. “At noon, I will have full information about the reasons for the deportation of journalist Daria Aslamova. The interview will take place under any circumstances. Here or in Moscow,” Dodon wrote. Aslamova is known for conducting interviews with former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Earlier, the Moldovan authorities banned the entry of several Russian journalists, public figures and political scientists into the country. In the most recent such case, when the editor-in-chief of the Argumenty I Fakty publication Igor Chernyak was stopped at the border, authorities invoked an identical reason, arguing that he did not meet the conditions required for crossing the state border and did not motivate the purpose of his visit.