Moscow. 20 January 2006. Moldova's President Mr. Vladimir Voronin and his team must be aware of the consequences of their political lynching of Advisor to the Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia", former Defence Minister and Ambassador of Moldova to Russia Valeriu Pasat.

In fact, the charges against him were that, while acting in accordance with Moldova's political and military commitments to the international community, which remain in force until today, he did not permit the Soviet fighter aircraft to be used as an instrument of military escalation in the Middle East. It is noteworthy that none of the witnesses called to court gave incriminating evidence against Valeriu Pasat.

The reaction from the Russian and international community to Mr. Pasat's arrest was clearly negative from the very beginning. RAO "UES of Russia" will appeal to the Strasbourg Court to seek his full acquittal, resorting to all means permitted by the law. As is known, the plan for interaction with Moldova developed and approved by the EU requires that Moldova's legislative and judicial systems are to be brought into compliance with the international standards, and that the principles of Supremacy of Law are to be unconditionally abided by. In this connection, we are confident that Mr. Voronin, who is trying to integrate into the European Community, will inevitably encounter problems because of the apparent use of the court system to achieve his political goals.

The fact that Moldovan leaders have paid off old political scores with Valeriu Pasat is yet another manifestation of their unfriendly policy towards Russia. RAO "UES of Russia" points out that the Company's disapproval of the actions taken by the Moldovan authorities will in no way affect the Company's energy policy regarding the country's industrial and household consumers, as the Moldovan authorities are trying to present it.