Kremlin’s Attempts To Subvert Will Of Moldovan People 'Failed', Blinken Says

The United States said Monday that the Kremlin's attempts to subvert the will of the Moldovan people 'failed', TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"Moldova won," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Moldova's runoff presidential election, in which Maia Sandu defeated the more Moscow-friendly Alexandr Stoianoglo. "The Moldovan people have spoken.  They are intent on continuing to forge a European and democratic path, and their high level of participation in this election reflects this commitment," Blinlen added.

He went on to add that President Sandu is the first Moldovan president to win a mandate for a second term by popular vote, a historic achievement. "We commend the people of Moldova for their commitment to a democracy that reflects the will of the people and for protecting their election from an unprecedented level of Kremlin interference... We stand with the people of Moldova as they continue to chart their democratic, prosperous, and European future," Blinken noted.

State Department's spokesperson Matthew Miller told TURAN's Washington correspondent that Russia "did everything in its power" to disrupt the weekend's election, to undermine Moldova’s democracy, including through illicit financing, including through vote buying, disinformation, and malicious cyber activities.

"But the people of Moldova came forward and made their voices heard," Miller concluded.