MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Moldova’s political opposition parties are considering the possibility of nominating a single candidate for the country’s presidential election, head of Moldova’s autonomous Gagauzia Region Yevgenia Gutsul said speaking at a news conference in TASS on Monday.
Gutsul, who is also the executive secretary of the Moldovan opposition bloc Pobeda, also said that Gagauzia plans to start exporting products to Russia in the near future, and residents of the autonomous region "find ways" to watch Russian television channels despite their being banned in Moldova.
TASS has summarized the main points from what Gutsul said.
Moldova’s opposition bloc Pobeda
Gutsul said she expected the opposition bloc Pobeda, set up on the eve of the referendum on Moldova's accession to the European Union, to expand. "We are in favor of more opposition forces joining the fight against the PAS [Party of Action and Solidarity] led by [Moldovan President] Maia Sandu."
About opposition’s single presidential candidate
The Moldovan opposition is considering nominating a single candidate for the presidency. "Negotiations are underway because we are interested in the opposition as a whole coming together against what we call the yellow plague [yellow is the color of Sandu's party]," Gutsul noted.
Moldova’s integration with European Union
The head of Gagauzia slammed the referendum on Moldova's integration into the European Union as a political machination. "We realize that this referendum is politically motivated because it is about manipulating the people."
Gutsul said that Moldova's ruling party PAS "understands that they have no chance, so they resorted to this politically slanted tool of organizing a referendum."
Ukrainian conflict
Moldova’s opposition bloc Pobeda believes that all parties involved in the Ukrainian conflict should negotiate. "We stand for all involved parties gathering at the negotiating table. It is better to hold a dialogue. We are in favor of peace. I would like to note that not a single person in the Republic of Moldova wants war or to go back to how things were in the past."
Export of goods to Russia
The export of agricultural products from Gagauzia to Russia is slated to begin very soon. "We are working on it… and hope that agricultural producers will soon be able to deliver the first batch of their production to Russia," she said.
According to Gutsul, the exports will include wine, as well as "organic" fruits and vegetables that have been "rotting in the fields" for the past few years because there were "no markets for their distribution."
Russian TV broadcasting
Gutsul stated that in recent years the authorities of Moldova blocked access to 13 Russian broadcasting television channels. "It's a huge problem for people because they are prohibiting us today from watching TV channels that we want to watch."
However, she continued, despite the bans, residents of Gagauzia find alternative ways to watch them. "They find loopholes to watch Russian TV channels. We are fortunate to be living in the 21st century, in the age of the Internet. They [Gagauzia residents] find ways to watch them [Russian TV channels]."