Guțul Has Plans to Open Gagauz Office in Moscow

She stated this to journalists on Monday, after the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia announced the preliminary results of the second round of elections. “We are, so to say, a pro-Russian party. We want to continue friendly relations with the Russian Federation and other countries. We don’t want any conflicts,” Guțul said. Among the first steps she intends to open a representative office of the Moldovan region in Moscow, as well as to negotiate the export unblocking of agricultural products to Russia. It was banned in August 2022 because of violations of quarantine regulations. According to the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia, 27,376 people voted for Guțul and 24,913 for her rival from the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, Grigore Uzun. Earlier, it was reported that the elections were held without significant violations. Turnout in the second round was 54.5%, 3.3% lower than in the first round. Relations between Chisinau and Moscow deteriorated after Maia Sandu was elected president in 2020. After the election, she announced that she planned to visit Russia for discussing important problems in bilateral relations. Among them, she mentioned the export of Moldovan products, gas supplies, as well as the support of hundreds of thousands of Moldovan citizens working in Russia. However, Sandu never visited Moscow and ignored meetings within the CIS. With the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, she sided with the West and harshly criticized Moscow.