The Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS) has made an official statement on the latest actions of the Moldovan authorities towards the institute's employees.
The statement says that all the scientific, humanitarian, social and economic projects already launched or announced by the RISS Dnister-Prut Centre (RISS DPC) will be implemented and executed in the region, first of all, in Pridnestrovie.
The institute's employees are confident that in the end «common sense and justice will triumph over aggressive ignorance, xenophobia, tendency to sow discord and provoke the growth of tensions in the strategically important Dniester-Prut region.»
As previously reported, on 12 October 2014 the RISS DPC deputy director and head of scientific projects, V.B. Kashirin was detained at Kishinev airport. After a three-hour interrogation by Moldova's security service agents he was notified he was refused entry to Moldova. The official document issued by Moldova stated that V.B. Kashirin was «a threat to national security and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova.» After this incident, in the past six months RISS employees have been subjected to thorough searches, interrogations and other forms of psychological pressure every time they arrive in Moldova.
On 21 May 2015 the RISS DPC director, S.A. Mokshantsev, was detained at Kishinev airport and notified he was refused entry to Moldova for five years. The official motive was similar to that in Kashirin's case. Flagrant is the fact that Mokshantsev is a native of Bendery, Moldavian SSR, and his parents and relatives live in Pridnestrovie.
According to the media with reference to Moldova's special services, the guilt of RISS employees lies in the fact that «the sphere of interests of the Russian Institute of Strategic Research includes: analysis of the socio-political situation in Moldova, including Pridnestrovie; real time monitoring of the situation in cooperation with Pridnestrovie's experts, including MFA representatives, with the purpose of preparing information and recommendations for the subsequent implementation of Russia's policy; promotion of Eurasian integration ideas; development of the strategy for relations with the Gagauz Autonomy in the south of Moldova.»
The RISS statement says these facts are evident and generally known. «In terms of normal logic and common sense they [facts] do not provide any evidence that the activities of the RISS are illegal or threaten someone's interests in Moldova. All mentioned above is fully in line with the RISS regulations as a public scientific centre, whose main task has always been information and analytical support to Russia's policy-forming agencies," say RISS experts.
According to them, the unfriendly stance of Moldova's special services towards the RISS is astonishing, given that a number of officials in executive, legislative and judicial bodies of Moldova do not conceal their unionist views and advocate the liquidation of the sovereign Moldova and its absorption by Romania.
In the past years RISS employees have managed to implement a whole series of scientific and educational projects in the region, such as organisation of international scientific conferences, publishing of monographs and collection of articles, production of documentaries, organisation of summer schools and internship programmes for young experts.
In the spring of 2014 the permanent representation of the RISS, the Dniester-Prut Information and Analytical Centre, was established, which opened a new stage in the work of the institute.
However, since the autumn of 2014 RISS representatives have been facing biased and utterly hostile attitude on the part of Moldova's authorities and special services. Moldovan media circulated a number of publications in Russian and Moldavian languages which contained libellous and groundless insinuations on the character and goals of RISS activities in the region. RISS representatives were accused of collaborating with Russian special services, gathering secret information, «anti-European propaganda», «intimidating» the Moldovan population and militarisation of Pridnestrovie.
The RISS statement notes all these facts have absolutely no grounds.
«As is well known, Moldova's targeted actions against the RISS were simultaneous with similar acts against many other Russian experts, journalists, public activists, politicians, State Duma MPs, soldiers of the Operational Group of Russian Forces. In fact, Moldova's authorities are carrying out a systematic campaign to restrict the Russian presence in the Dnister-Prut region and, especially, in Pridnestrovie. It is also obvious that key behind-the-scene influence in these processes belongs to well-known foreign actors," says the document.
According to RISS employees, the actions by the Moldovan authorities are absolutely non-constructive and provocative, which considerably restricts the opportunities for a normal dialogue between Russia and Moldova at political, expert and public level.
The RISS is sure that these steps by official Kishinev will receive a political assessment and adequate response from the Russian leadership. On its part, the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies declares its unflinching intention to continue and expand its scientific, analytic and educational activities through the Dniester-Prut Information and Analytical Centre. Among its priorities is active cooperation with scientific, expert, socio-political institutions in Pridnestrovie and the Gagauz Autonomy.
«As before, the RISS is open to professional collaboration with all sound and constructive expert, media and socio-political circles in the Republic of Moldova," emphasises the statement.
