She called the presence of Russian military personnel in the Transnistria the “greatest problem” of the region.

Sandu has been making statements about the need to withdraw Russian peacekeepers from Transnistria since her first days as President of Moldova.

Moscow has noted that a change in the status quo could lead to the destabilisation of the situation in Transnistria. According to Dmitry Peskov, “one can only express regret in connection with such a position” of the Moldovan President.

Around 455,000 people live in Transnistria. About 220,000 of them already hold Russian citizenship, and around 50,000 have submitted applications to obtain it under the simplified procedure since May 25.