Farmers in Moldova are protesting, demanding that the authorities review the law on deferring payments to banks, as they believe that such assistance will not be provided to all farms affected by the drought. On Tuesday and Wednesday, protesters blocked the Chisinau-Cahul and Cahul-Giurgiulesti highways in the south of the country, and on Thursday part of the action moved to the capital. Leaving the equipment in place, the farmers picketed the building of the administration of President Maya Sandu in Chisinau, seeking a meeting with her. However, the head of state ignored their requests.
"I call on both the parliament and the government to forget their ambitions, so that they finally obey their hearts, think with their own heads, and not what the West dictates to them. And at least in this last month that they have left, they have finally done something, something good for their citizens. I hope the authorities will forget their personal, political ambitions, and will really go for the people, for the farmers. If they do not have the opportunity to help, then I think that, on the contrary, they would stand side by side and together help those people who really need it," Gutsul said.
Russia is ready to promote dialogue between the parties involved in the Transnistria conflict, both within the 5+2 format and on a bilateral basis, Zakharova told Sputnik.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said earlier this week that Moldova could join the European Union without Transnistria. The head of state said that the "Transnistria problem" should not be an obstacle to Moldova's eurointegration, adding that Brussels does not require Chisinau to resolve the issue before joining the EU.
The discussion of this issue in Chisinau highlights the complexity of the Transnistria problem and the degree of division between the two banks of the Dnister River, the diplomat said, adding that Chisinau, in pursuit of the "European dream," is potentially prepared to give up on the prospect of resolving the Transnistria problem, while it is clear that its resolution is not a top priority for Chisinau.
Zakharova added that Tiraspol's possible involvement in the upcoming negotiations between Chisinau and Brussels was being calculated.
The talks on the Transnistria settlement in the 5+2 format involve Chisinau and Tiraspol as parties to the conflict, Russia, Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as mediators, and the European Union and the United States as observers. The last round of talks in this format took place in Bratislava in 2019.
Transnistria, 60% of whose population are Russians and Ukrainians, sought to secede from Moldova even before the collapse of the Soviet Union, fearing that Moldova would join Romania on a wave of nationalism. In 1992, after an unsuccessful attempt by the Moldovan authorities to resolve the problem by force, Transnistria became a territory virtually outside of Chisinau's control.