Embassies of Switzerland, Iran to Ukraine temporarily move to Chisinau

CHISINAU. March 22 (Interfax) - The Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine has temporarily moved to Chisinau, the Moldovan capital, from Kyiv, President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis said at a news conference that he attended together with Moldovan President Maia Sandu in Chisinau.

Swiss Ambassador to Ukraine Claude Wild and embassy staff are now in Chisinau, where they will continue their work, he said.

"I have expressed gratitude to the president of Moldova for supporting [the relocation of] our embassy from Kyiv, our diplomats will be based in Chisinau," Cassis said.

There is no Swiss embassy in Moldova. Wild was earlier appointed ambassador to Ukraine and to Moldova with the residence in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador to Ukraine Manouchehr Moradi also said that the Iranian embassy to Ukraine has moved temporarily to Chisinau.

"Considering that the embassy cannot perform its duties in the city of Kyiv, we have decided to move temporarily to the city of Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. We have made this choice because the country is close to Ukraine, as well as because the Islamic Republic of Iran's ambassador to Ukraine also serves as ambassador to Moldova," Moradi said on social media.

The diplomatic mission will continue to work with Iranians in Ukraine to address their needs, he said.

As Interfax reported earlier, the Moldovan parliament enacted a state of emergency for 60 days on February 24. From February 24 to March 22, as many as 333,949 Ukrainian citizens arrived in Moldova. Of them, 234,747 crossed the republic in transit, heading to Romania and other European countries. As of today, 97.057 Ukrainian nationals are staying in Moldova (97,524 as of the previous day). In total, there are 5,403 foreigners seeking asylum in Moldova (there were 5,327 of them one day ago).