Election Shows Many Moldovans Favor Closer Russian Ties: Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW, December 3 (Sputnik) – The results of the recent Moldovan parliamentary election show that a large number of voters favor developing relations with Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published Wednesday.

“As a whole, the results of the parliamentary elections that were held in Moldova shows that a large number of Moldovan citizens who voted in them favors the development of relations with the Russian Federation and the country’s inclusion to the process of integrating the country into the Eurasian space,” the statement reads.

On Sunday, Moldova held elections for all 101 seats in the country's parliament. Four independent candidates and 21 political parties participated in the election.

After counting 99.81 percent of votes, the Party of Socialists is leading with 20.56 percent. It is followed by the Liberal Democratic Party, which secured 20.1 percent. The Party of Communists has 17.52 percent, the Democratic Party has 15.8 percent and the Liberal Party has 9.64 percent.

On Monday, Party of Socialists leader Igor Dodon said that the party would not form a coalition with pro-European parties that did not want to move toward membership in the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

In June, Moldova signed an association agreement with the European Union. Opinion polls show that about 45 percent of the country's citizens support Moldova's membership in the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, while 43 percent would like the country to join the European Union.