Petitions of Transdniestrians for recognition are in Moscow - Rogozin
MOSCOW. May 11 (Interfax) - Russian Vice Premier Dmitry Rogozin has said that most of the petitions of residents of Transdniestrian for the recognition of the self-proclaimed Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic have been brought to Moscow.
"The petitions of Transdniestrians for the recognition of their republic are in Moscow. The Moldovan special services that detained and searched our aircraft in Chisinau ended up with only a small part of the cargo. We took care of most of the cargo. The Russian delegation also brought home the message of Transdniestrians to the leadership of Russia. And even though it has sooner symbolic than legal sense, it is important for us now," Rogozin wrote in Facebook on Sunday.
"One way or the other Chisinau's provocation will have serious consequences for our bilateral relations," he added.
The Moldovan authorities confirmed the seizure of petitions for the recognition of Transdniestrian from the jet on which Rogozin was returning from Tiraspol to Moscow.
"The documents were detained by the relevant bodies of the Republic of Moldova for a check of their lawfulness in accordance with acting legislation. The private visit to the Republic of Moldova of Russian Vice Premier Dmitry Rogozin who was accompanied by a group of State Duma deputies and a member of the Russian government was marked by declarations of provocative nature regarding the Republic of Moldova," a statement of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry says.
Earlier a United Russia Duma deputy Alexei Zhuravlyov told Interfax that over 30,000 petitions from residents of Transdniestria in support of unification with Russia were seized from Rogozin's aircraft that was delayed in Chisinau given the refusal of Ukraine to allow its flight over Ukrainian territory.
Earlier reports said that Duma deputies and Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky who accompanied Rogozin during Victory Day festivities on Friday in Moldova's breakaway Transdniestrian province were denied permission to fly across Ukraine to Moscow. Rogozin returned to Moscow on a public scheduled flight.