CHISINAU, November 8. /TASS/. The main challenge for the Moldovan leadership after the election of US President Donald Trump has become relations with Russia, Anatoly Dirun, a political scientist from the unrecognized Transnistria, said.

He pointed out that the majority of Moldova’s residents voted against incumbent leader Maia Sandu, who is pursuing a course of severing ties with Russia.

"The election has showed that it is impossible to consolidate Moldovan society on the basis of aggressive anti-Russian rhetoric, since half (at least) of the country is in favor of normal relations with Moscow. <...> Of course, one can pretend that nothing has happened. But after Trump's election as US president, we will have to look for answers to [many] questions," the political scientist wrote on his Telegram channel. Dirun opined that the process of normalizing relations with Russia "should at least begin with accepting the credentials of the new Russian ambassador," Oleg Ozerov.

Relations between Russia and Moldova cooled in 2021 after Sandu came to power. She refused to participate in CIS summits, and her ruling Party of Action and Solidarity began to denounce CIS agreements. Relations deteriorated further in 2022, when Moscow accused Chisinau of unfriendly actions and responded with accusations of interference in the country's internal affairs. At that time, Moldova demanded the expulsion of several dozen employees of the Russian embassy from the country. Russia retaliated. Moscow urged Chisinau to pay attention to the interests of its own citizens and not to hinder the development of relations with Russia.