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In Transnistria, a narrow area on the border with Ukraine, Russian forces were deployed in this pro-Russian region during a brief civil war following the collapse of the Soviet Union following Moldova’s declaration of independence.
In his first post-election press conference on Monday, the pro-European Sandu called on Russian troops to withdraw, saying that Moldova “had never accepted” their presence in Transnistria.
Sandu added that Moldova “has long been demanding” that Russian peacekeepers be replaced by civilian observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Maia sandu
Lavrov said Sandu’s proposal “would hardly help the settlement process” and that Moscow “could hardly accept such irresponsible demands.”
According to him, “good relations lead to focus on common interests and agreements reached in the past.”
Sandu, 48, a former prime minister of Moldova, defeated current Moscow-backed president Igor Dodon in the November elections. The president-elect promised balanced relations between the country and Russia and the West.
She is expected to take office as president in late December.
Following protests this year in the former Soviet republics of Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, a traditional Moscow sphere of influence, Russia openly supported Sandu’s rival, I. Dodon, in the Moldavian elections.
Analysts see Sandu’s victory as a major blow to the Kremlin, which has been hoping the pro-Russian Dodon will secure a new term.
Russia wanted a divided Moldova, plagued by political unrest and security crisis, to remain within its sphere of influence, as several Kremlin-allied governments were plagued by political unrest and security crises.
After the victory, Sandu promised to maintain a “real balance” in foreign policy and a “pragmatic dialogue with all countries, including Romania, Ukraine, European countries, Russia and the United States.”
“I will work for all the citizens of our country,” said the 48-year-old center-right opposition politician, who did not serve as prime minister for a short time in 2019.
Addressing supporters of Dodon, he said: “They have not lost, I will earn their trust in the concrete work.”
Dodon had promised to maintain close ties with Moldova’s “strategic partner” Moscow, and said Russian should be a compulsory subject in schools. He came to power in 2016, defeating Sandu in the second round.
Moldova, part of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1991, is one of the poorest countries in Europe; about 40 percent. its citizens have gone abroad to work.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who called on Moldovans to support Dodon after announcing his defeat, congratulated Sandu and wished him success.
“I hope that his work as head of state will promote the constructive development of relations between the two countries,” Putin said in a statement posted on the Kremlin’s website.
The policy of a small intervened Moldova between Ukraine and NATO member Romania has long been very delicate. 3.5 million In a country with a population of two, there are two opposing camps: those in favor of closer ties with the European Union and, in particular, Romania, and those in Soviet-era relations with Moscow.
Russia has deployed troops in the breakaway Transnistrian region of Moldova, which it supports. After a brief civil war following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, separatist Transnistria is not recognized by the international community. Mr. Sandu will be sworn in after Dodon’s term ends on December 23.
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