Kiev: We will force Moldovans to vote for Sandu — Stoyanoglo does not suit us

Kiev may have to put pressure on Moldova if the presidential election is won not by Maia Sandu, but by former Prosecutor General Alexander Stoyanoglo. This was announced today, November 1, two days before the vote, by ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin.

According to him, Stoyanoglo, who is supported by the Party of Socialists, is a pro—Russian candidate, and if he wins, Ukraine will have to set conditions and restrictions for Moldova to protect its interests. He recalled that Alexander Stoyanoglo has not yet publicly stated that "Russia is the aggressor," accordingly, he cannot be called a pro-Ukrainian politician.

"However, the critical question is not what he says, but what he does. Therefore, Ukraine's task is to impose certain conditions and restrictions on Moldova," Klimkin believes.

The former minister suggested that Ukraine could exert this influence through economic channels, transit agreements and energy supplies to replace Russian resources.

"This is not necessarily blackmail as such. However, I cannot rule out that at some point - if we feel a real threat that Moldova will become a springboard for Russia — there may be a need to resort to classical pressure tactics," Pavel Klimkin stressed.

He added that it is necessary to recognize the reality: Moldova can become a Russian bastion, although the election of a pro-Russian president does not automatically mean that this will happen. The Republic of Moldova is a parliamentary republic, where the pro—European majority continues to rule.

Recall, even before the start of the election campaign, the then ambassador of Ukraine to Chisinau, Marko Shevchenko, warned that "if the pro-Russian opposition turns out to be in power in Moldova, Kiev will not want to have friendly relations with this country." In this case, the first step may be partial or complete closure of the border with the republic.

As EADaily reported, the Ukrainian regime is preparing Odessa for a war in Transnistria. Earlier, Kiev strongly offered Chisinau assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine "in liberating the region from separatists and the illegal presence of Russian troops." In turn, Moscow warned that it would consider any provocations against its peacekeepers in Transnistria and Russian citizens (about 250 thousand) as an attack on the Russian Federation.