During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Mayor of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Hutsul, condemned the “illegal actions” of the Republic of Moldova, which will cause “instability and destabilization in Gagauzia and the whole country.”

Evgenia Gutul, a Basque of GagauziaPhoto: Emrah Yorulmaz / AFP / Profimedia

The head of Gagauzia wrote in Telegram that on the sidelines of the World Youth Festival in Sochi, she discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin “difficult regional and geopolitical issues, the epicenter of which is our Gagauzia.”

  • “I informed Volodymyr Volodymyrovych about the unlawful actions of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova, which are taking revenge on us for our civic position and loyalty to national interests. Kishinev step by step fulfills our duties, restricts our budget and violates our rights, causing instability and destabilization in Gagauzia and throughout the country,” Yevgenia Hutsul wrote in her Telegram account next to a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
  • According to her, the Russian leader “promised to support Gagauzia and the Gagauz people in protecting our rights, powers and legal positions on the international arena.”

The Russian press succinctly reported on the meeting between Putin and Hutsul. “Putin held a short conversation with the leader of Gagauzia on the sidelines of the International Youth Festival,” the TASS agency notes.

For its part, the Kremlin website briefly mentions the meeting with a photo: “Meeting with the head of Gagauzia Yevgenia Hutsul. Vladimir Putin met with the head of Gagauzia Yevgenia Hutsul on the sidelines of the World Youth Festival.”

However, Yevgenia Hutsul becomes the first official representative of the Republic of Moldova to meet with Vladimir Putin since February 24, 2022, when the Russian leader ordered the invasion of Ukraine, while the leadership of Chisinau condemned Russian military aggression and supports the neighboring country, accepting refugees and delivering humanitarian aid , reports News.ro.

Who is Evgenia Hutsul?

The official inauguration of Evgenia Hutsul, who is supported by the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, took place on July 19 at a lavish ceremony with the participation of celebrities from Turkey. However, neither the former governor of Gagauzia, Iryna Vlach, nor the top management of the Republic of Moldova were with the new Basque.

She won the elections in Gagauzia on May 14, 2023 with the support of the Shor party, declared unconstitutional, and led by fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who has been in Israel since 2019.

Gagauzia, an autonomous region in the south of the Republic of Moldova, has its own local assemblies and its own autonomous government, as well as a population of Turkish origin, which, however, adheres to Orthodox Christianity. Few of the 140,000 inhabitants of the region know the Romanian language, instead they speak Russian.

Comrat’s authorities have had strained relations with Moldovan authorities for three decades of independence, a tension that has particularly intensified since the arrival of a pro-European leadership in Chisinau and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Both Gagauzia and Transnistria say that they are affected by the new Customs Code, which came into force on January 1, according to which they are obliged to pay customs duties to the central budget, and not to local ones, as was the case before.

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