# Duma lawmaker: Sandu persecutes Gagauzia for remaining pro-Russian

https://mins.news/en/item/25142

- TASS, 2026-08-18 13:01 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://tass.com/politics/2174671

> Russian State Duma lawmaker Alena Arshinova accused Moldovan President Maia Sandu of persecuting Gagauzia because the autonomous region has remained pro-Russian and opposed unification with Romania. She said Gagauz people do not want to become a Romanian district stripped of its identity. Gagauzia’s People’s Assembly had declared Evgenia Gutsul unable to perform her duties and the leadership post vacant under a court ruling and the autonomy law.

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