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Impossible to resolve Transnistria issue without Russia, Moldova’s president-elect says

The run-off pit leader of the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity Maia Sandu won the November elections in Moldova

KIEV, November 20. /TASS/. It is impossible to resolve the Transnistria issue without Russia, Moldova’s President-Elect Maia Sandu said in an interview with Ukraine’s Yevropeiskaya Pravda (or European Truth) news outlet.

"There are things that we can do to resolve the conflict, which include the fight against corruption and smuggling of goods. As long as politicians in Chisinau and Tiraspol are interested in making money from the conflict, they will resist efforts to find a political solutions," Sandu pointed out.

"At some point, a political opportunity will arise for Moldova’s reunification and we need to be ready for it. In any case, it should be a peaceful solution acceptable for all of Moldova. Moreover, I am sure that there needs to be an action plan developed in Moldova and approved by all political forces and society," Sandu added.

In July 1992, Moldovan President Mircea Snegur and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed an agreement on the principles for the peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in Transnistria, which provided for the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to the zone of separation between the parties to the conflict. The document was signed in the presence of Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov.

Moldova held the second round of its presidential election on November 15. The run-off pit leader of the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity Maia Sandu against incumbent President Igor Dodon. Sandu won the run-off election with 57.7% of the vote and Dodon gained 42.2%.