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Russia Urges International Community to Assess Moldova’s Actions Towards Bishop Markell

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Depriving Archbishop Markell of Balti and Falesti of opportunity to fly to Jerusalem for the Holy Fire is manifestation of the anti-people course of the Moldovan authorities, and the international community should pay attention to that and assess Chisinau’s actions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

On Thursday, Moldovan media reported that Bishop Markell was detained at the Chisinau airport for a lengthy security check, which ultimately prevented him from boarding his flight to Israel on time. He was supposed to travel to Jerusalem to receive the Holy Fire for Moldova during the annual Great Saturday ceremony. On Friday, Markell arrived at Chisinau airport again to fly out to Israel, but the police took away his passport and returned it only after the plane took off, without giving any explanation of the denial of the right to leave.

Believers with candles and lamps lit by the Holy Fire in the Cathedral of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. - Sputnik International, 1920, 19.04.2025

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"We estimate this deliberate step which sparked public outcry both in Moldova and beyond as another manifestation of the anti-people course of the Moldovan rulers, their double standard policy ... We are calling on the international community to pay attention to these events and to provide their assessment to these outrageous actions of the Moldovan authorities," the commentary of Russian Ambassador-at-Large Gennady Askaldovich released on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website read.