CHISINAU. June 19 (Interfax) - British Ambassador to Moldova Lucy Joyce has been summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry to provide clarification on a visit by the unrecognized Transdniestrian republic's leaders to London, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry press service told Interfax.
It was a private visit organized by the Oxford Union, a student organization for debates of academic interest, the British diplomat said at a meeting.
Representatives of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office used this opportunity to directly inform the Tiraspol leaders of the British government's official stance that the Transdniestrian conflict should be resolved the way Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected and Transdniestria be granted a special status, Joyce said.
She affirmed the British authorities' readiness to continue further efforts in this direction with participation of international players, including by means of promoting various projects in building confidence between the two banks of the Dniester River.
"While showing full understanding of the British government's good intentions regarding the Transdniestrian conflict settlement process, Deputy Foreign Minister Lilian Darii drew the British embassy's attention to the inadmissibility of such actions in the future. He referred to the negative political effect caused by the political stereotypes and the deliberate actions of the Tiraspol regime's exponents," the Moldovan Foreign Ministry press service said.
"Abusive practices and political divergences that recently have been committed often by the leaders in Tiraspol, who aspire to use any tribune to propagate separatist ideas and deceive the public, undermine efforts taken with international partners' support in finding a comprehensive and steady solution to the Transdniestrian conflict within Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said.
The Moldovan Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador following reports that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office had officially received Transdniestrian leader Vadim Krasnoselsky. The Transdniestrian delegation had paid an official visit to London at an invitation of the Oxford Union and the British Foreign Office last week, Krasnoselsky said at a press conference on Sunday.
Moldovan colleagues are annoyed because Transdniestria "is being listened to," he said.