BASHKAN INFORMS EX-PRESIDENT OF MOLDOVA ABOUT SITUATION IN GAGAUZIA

On Friday, the Bashkan of Gagauzia, Evghenia Gutul, met with former Moldovan President, Igor Dodon, noting "the growing pressure on the autonomy by the ruling PAS Party and personally by President Maia Sandu." According to Gutul, "the regime enjoys unprecedented support from Western partners, with whose approval PAS and Sandu are rolling back democratic freedoms and destroying relations between the center and the autonomy." Bashkan is confident that "the opposition forces will have a chance to win the next presidential and parliamentary elections only if they manage to overcome the accumulated contradictions and resentments and join forces." Dodon expressed concern about the "strained relations between the center and the autonomy over the past three years." "After the current president and her party came to power, the dialog with both the previous head of the Executive Committee of Gagauzia and the current one was practically blocked. I consider unacceptable the pressure on the autonomy, both politically and economically. Gagauzia has received constitutional and legally enshrined rights, which the central authorities of the republic must respect," he emphasized.