Tatarstan’s leader, Rustam Minnikhanov, was scheduled to attend the Peoples’ Friendship Congress held in Comrat, Moldova. He was invited to the event by local parliament member Alexander Sukhodolsky, who had recently visited Tatarstan. However, upon arrival at Chisinau airport, Minnikhanov was informed that he was an undesirable person in Moldova and was banned from entering the country. The Raisus of Tatarstan was not even allowed to disembark the plane.
Pro-Kremlin politicians are publicly asking the following questions: Why can Minnikhanov visit Crimea, Ichkeria, China, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, but not Moldova? How should this incident be assessed from a political perspective, and could it spark a new international conflict? How might the Russian authorities respond to this case? Why is Ramzan Kadyrov, a close friend of Rustam Minnikhanov, silent about this?
My answer:
Tatarstan’s head, Rustam Minnikhanov, and Ichkeria’s head, Ramzan Kadyrov, cannot visit foreign countries without permission; they are only allowed to meet with politicians on Putin’s orders. Both of these figures receive instructions from the Moscow Kremlin before meeting with anyone. They are indeed Putin’s agents. The Moldovan authorities acted absolutely correctly with regard to Minnikhanov; all countries should ban Putin’s agents from entering their territory, as the Moldovans do.
Sincerely,
Rafis Kashapov – Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile
