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15 Jul 2022, 12:20

Gagauz leader alarmed by anti-Russian remarks from Moldova’s highest officials

The official pointed to the Moldovan economy’s heavy dependency on Russia who is the only supplier of gas at the best price, as well as a large market for Moldovan agricultural products

CHISINAU, July 15. /TASS/. Governor of Moldova’s Gagauz Autonomy Irina Vlah has raised alarm bells over anti-Russian comments made by the leadership in Chisinau and accused the country’s pro-European authorities of abandoning the principles of democracy.

Excerpts from her interview with Moldova TV were published on Friday.

"The present-day declarations by [Moldova’s] authorities are frightening. <…> You get the feeling that they only want to unilaterally be friends with certain partners. This is wrong. <…> Our small country should build good relations both with EU and CIS countries as well as the Russian Federation," she said, commenting on the national leadership debating the possibility of leaving the CIS.

The official pointed to the Moldovan economy’s heavy dependency on Russia who is the only supplier of gas at the best price, as well as a large market for Moldovan agricultural products.

"The authorities talk about democracy, utter very nice words, <…> but they do not observe these principles. I do not sense any mutual respect for different opinions in our country, I do not sense that the country’s leadership is ready to hold a dialogue and find compromises," Vlah, who is a member of Moldova’s government, said. She regretted that discussions on applying for candidate status for Moldova’s membership in the EU were "not transparent" and hadn’t even been discussed in the government. "I found out about all these steps in the news," she noted.

The Gagauz Autonomy’s legislature also criticized the absence of transparency on this issue last week. Given the situation, the autonomy’s lawmakers stated their intention to "actively promote the interests of the Gagauz people in the context of ensuring the political and socio-economic independence of Gagauzia’s autonomy," and turn to the EU for assistance in defending the autonomy’s rights.

Gagauzia was formed in accordance with the December 1994 law on its special status approved by Moldova’s parliament. This ended the standoff that erupted in 1990, when during their nascent struggle for national revival, the Gagauz declared themselves a republic while Chisinau attempted to liquidate it by force. Soviet troops helped avoid bloodshed back then. On June 23, at the continent-wide bloc’s summit, EU leaders granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for their membership in the European Union in order to launch talks on their accession.