MOSCOW, December 26 (Itar-Tass) — Yevgeny Shevchuk’s victory in Transdniestria’s presidential election will not change the vector of relations between Moscow and Tiraspol, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky said.
The Transdniestrian Central Election Commission officially declared Shevchuk the new president of the unrecognised republic. He received more than 73.8 percent of votes in the run-off election. His competitor Anatoly Kaminsky, the incumbent parliament speaker, was second with 19.6 percent.
Shevchuk said he was prepared to be sworn in and take office before the end of the year.
Slutsky said Shevchuk was an experienced and flexible politician who, in his opinion, “will not quarrel with Russia”.
“The newly elected president promised that there will be no changes in Tiraspol’s foreign policy,” the MP said.
He disagreed with assertions that Russia has allegedly lost positions after Shevchuk’s election. “No matter who wins this race, relations between Russia and Transdniestria could not change dramatically anyway,” he said.
At the same time, Slutsky believes that changes may occur in the Transdniestrian settlement.
“Unlike his predecessor [Igor] Smirnov, who strongly advocated independence, Shevchuk has a more flexible position. So, different options are possible there,” Slutsky said.