Maia Sandu warned that Russia could provoke a crisis in Transnistria to influence the Moldovan elections

<p>Maia Sandu said Russia could escalate the Transnistria crisis ahead of the fall parliamentary elections to influence the vote. She stressed that the Russian Federation was using the population on the left bank of the Dniester for political purposes and could resort to blackmail. She assured that the Moldovan authorities were analyzing these risks in order to ensure free elections. She also said that the energy situation in the region was precarious and that support for the Transnistrian population depended on the withdrawal of Russian troops.