Hours before heroically coaxing Vladimir Putin out of his mysterious 11-day hibernation on March 16, Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek made a brief stopover in Moldova.
He was flying on a private jet, reportedly provided by one of Moldova’s richest men.
The secretive mission to Chisinau, where Atambayev reportedly met controversial oligarch-politician Vladimir Plahotniuc, has baffled many in Bishkek and angered opposition leaders.
Plahotniuc, aside from being a parliamentarian from the pro-Europe Democratic Party of Moldova, has faced legal scandals related to his business activity in both Great Britain and the Netherlands. In 2012, Business New Europe called the oligarch “a kingmaker.” Others describe him as the most powerful man in Moldova.
Prompting even more questions, Atambayev did not meet Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti during the four-hour layover. Timofti’s press secretary said to local media, as a way of explanation, that Atambayev was short on time and that he “met with someone in Chisinau.”
Atambayev’s office is mostly tight-lipped about the meeting, prompting a furious reaction from opposition leader Ravshan Jeenbekov, who said such behavior – flying on a private jet and holding secret meetings – “does not honor the head of an independent state.”
Atambayev’s foreign relations advisor Sapar Isakov did release a cryptic statement to calm curious Kyrgyz journalists on March 17, but did not name Atambayev's interlocutor: “It is not yet time to officially comment on Almazbek Atambayev’s meeting in Moldova in Chisinau, but I can confirm without doubt that like other activities of the president, it was dictated exclusively by the national interests of Kyrgyzstan.”
Moldova’s Association of Investigative Reporters and Editorial Security (RISE) was first to report the meeting.
According to RISE, the Kyrgyz president arrived and departed on a Nobil Air charter Embraer business jet. He was in town for just four hours and may have visited the Nobil Hotel, which was subject to security checks at the time, according to RISE. Both the Nobil Hotel and Nobil Air are rumored to be owned by Plahotniuc.
Moldovan media have suggested Atambayev was on a business trip unrelated to affairs of state. But whatever Atambayev was doing, the secrecy is causing a lot of tongues to wag in Bishkek.
Chris Rickleton is a journalist based in Almaty.
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