CHISINAU, March 19. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov has been summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry over the holding of the Russian presidential election in the unrecognized republic of Transnistria, the embassy told TASS.
"The Russian ambassador has arrived at the Moldovan Foreign Ministry, where he was summoned over Transnistria hosting voting in the Russian presidential election," the embassy said.
Earlier, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry protested the presence of polling stations in Transnistria, while Moldovan President Maia Sandu pledged that her government would "announce a response" soon.
In turn, Vasnetsov said that the Russian embassy, the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) and the Russian Foreign Ministry had received a large number of requests from Russian nationals residing in Transnistria asking that they be given the opportunity to take part in the Russian presidential election.
Moldova banned holding the Russian election anywhere except on the premises of the Russian embassy, restricting the only polling station to Chisinau. Six more polling stations were set up in Transnistria, where more than 250,000 Russian nationals live. In the 2021 Russian parliamentary election, 30 polling stations were opened across both Moldova and Transnistria. According to preliminary data, 97% voters in Moldova and Transnistria cast their votes in favor of incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin.