Moldovan authorities accused of pressurising Gagauzia

The Moldovan leadership is trying to weaken the Gagauz autonomy, said the deputy head of the region, Victor Petrov.

According to him, Gagauzians face pressure at all levels, Gazeta.ru reports.

"Public figures, Gagauz politicians, representatives of the clergy and simply active residents of the autonomy, who try to express their opinion, different from the position of the Moldovan authorities, fall under the pressure of the official Chisinau, either explicitly or implicitly. There are forces in our country, and apparently outside it, who do not need a strong Gagauzia," Petrov said, speaking before the deputies of the regional parliament.

He added that the Moldovan authorities do not want to see the region in the status of autonomy and wish to surrender the whole country under the control of Romania. Petrov emphasized that there is a threat of the state being dragged into a military conflict.

"In the face of great danger, the politics of the autonomy, all of us, all the people must unite, put aside all squabbles and misunderstandings, grudges and ambitions and stand up with one force to defend Gagauzia, the people and our entire country," concluded the deputy head of Gagauzia.

Back in 2020, the leader of the pro-Western party "Action and Solidarity" Maya Sandu became the president of Moldova. A year later, the political force managed to gain a majority in parliament after early elections and to intensify the course of rapprochement with the European Union and the United States. In 2022, Moldova was granted candidate status for EU accession together with Ukraine.