According to Izvestiya citing sources from the Moldovan parliament, Moldovan lawmakers are discussing the introduction of a visa regime with Russia amid recently rising diplomatic tensions between the countries, but the final decision has not been made yet.
"I do not see any reasons to introduce visas. I do not see why Moldova and our bilateral relations need this, especially when there are more than 560,000 of our citizens in Russia… I consider this a provocation," Dodon said.
Earlier in August, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was declared persona non grata by the Moldovan government for his "offensive" statements. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed a strong protest to the Moldovan ambassador to Russia Andrei Neguta in connection with the decision.
Moldovan President Igor Dodon said the decision involved Chisinau in an unprecedented diplomatic and geopolitical scandal.
