Moldovan Intelligence and Security Service has enough powers to carry out special operations, Service employee says

Chisinau, 15 February /MOLDPRES/ - Only special services have needed powers and instruments to get involved in actions of  releasing Moldovan citizens who were taken hostages in certain circumstances outside the territory of Moldova. A reserve colonel, former employee of the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS), Alexandru Popescu, has made statements to this effect in an interview given exclusively to MOLDPRES.     

Alexandru Popescu said that “we cannot speak at all about the direct involvement of the presidential institution in these activities, as these are specific actions and sectors, in which a presidential institution has no powers and it could become risky for the country.”

According to Popescu, the head of state, in his capacity of supreme chief of the armed forces, has right to get involved in activities of this kind; yet, the way of involvement is very important. Thus, the head of state can, for instance, tackle this issue at a meeting, can summon the members of the Supreme Security Council, the heads of the bodies of maintaining law and order and can demand actions, proposals, make hearings and set tasks and these structures should start fulfilling these tasks, report about their fulfillment and the results achieved, Alexandru Popescu said.      

The former SIS employee showed confident that the special services of Russia had also participated in the operation of release of the two Moldovan pilots taken hostages in Afghanistan. In this respect, Popescu thanked both the Russian special services involved and representatives of Moldova’s presidential institution.

Earlier this week, President Igor Dodon informed that the two Moldovan pilots, seized in Afghanistan in 2015, had been recovered from captivity and were in Moscow.

The video interview given by Alexandru Popescu to MOLDPRES can be watched on the website of the Agency, www.moldpres.md.