Angry at Chisinau and Encouraged by Moscow, Gagauz May Declare Independence from Moldova as Early as in February

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Dec. 19 – The relationship between the Moldovan central government and its Gagauz autonomy is increasingly fraught, and the Gagauz national movement is now holding meetings to discuss the possibility of declaring Gagauzia an independent republic, possibly as early as February.
    Activists say there is already overwhelming support for the idea that if the Gagauz do remain within Moldova, that will be possible only if Moldovan laws which contradict those of the republic are null and void on its territory. Moving toward a declaration of full independence would be a logical next step (ng.ru/cis/2024-12-19/5_9160_status.html).
    The Christian Turkic but largely Russian speaking region of approximately 100,000 people has increasingly been a thorn in the side of the current government in Chisinau, opposing the current president and her plans to integrate Moldova as a whole into the EU. The Gagauz remain pro-Moscow and anti-Europe and are a constrain on her plans.
    Moscow for its part has used the Gagauz along with Transnistria to undermine Chisinau; and this latest talk in Komrat about the Gagauz pursuing independence from Moldova almost certainly is the work of the Russian government and its pro-Moscow allies among the business elite in Moldova.  
    (For background on the complicated history of Gagauzia in independent Moldova and Moscow’s use of it, see https://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/01/to-oppose-moldovas-rapprochement-with.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2021/08/chisinaus-policies-turning-gagauzia.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2016/07/russia-and-gagauz-expanding-ties-at.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2015/09/moscow-mulls-mobilizing-transdniestria.html.)