Moldova assures that the statements by the presidential candidates in this country about the affiliation of Crimea do not reflect the country's official position.
"No matter who becomes the president of Moldova, I am sure that the course for continued partnership and friendly relations with Ukraine will be maintained," the Ambassador of Moldova to Ukraine Ruslan Bolbochan told a 28 October press conference in Kyiv, responding to a question by an LB.ua reporter about possible change Moldova's foreign policy.
The ambassador stressed that Moldova officially supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
In turn, a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute, Leonid Litra said that "it is hard to believe" to the pro-Russian candidate in the elections Igor Dodon. The expert recalled that in 2008 Dodon, as Minister of Economic Affairs, asked the European Commission to sign an FTA agreement with Moldova, and became an ardent advocate of the break of the deal immediately after he was elected the head of the Socialists Party.
The leader of the Socialist Party of Moldova and the presidential runner Igor Dodon said during a televised debate that the annexed Crimea "belongs to Russia."
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has urged Moldovan politicians to refrain from using the topic of Crimea in electoral rhetoric.