Smirnov ignores Moscow's advice, prepares to stand for his 5th term as president
Transnistrian president Igor Smirnov is going to stand for the presidential post for the 5th time at the ordinary presidential elections to be held next December, he announced in his interview with Russia's influential Nezavissimaya Gazeta [Independent Newspaper].
As Infotag has already reported, last week Igor Smirnov visited Moscow, where he had meetings with the Head of the Russian Federation Presidential Administration Sergei Naryshkin, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev etc.
According to unofficial information, they recommended to the unchangeable Tiraspol leader to give up his idea of running for presidency once again, for they presume that his advanced age (70) and his 20 years of staying at the head of the region (4 presidential terms in succession) are quite sufficient, and time is ripe for new people.
But judging by everything, Smirnov is not going to listen to Moscow and to yield power.
He said, "We are very grateful to Russia, thank to which we exist. But lately, Russia has been keeping away from us and has taken a pause, which is being filled by other players. We understand Russia hopes for political dividends from the European Union by yielding positions on the Transnistrian direction, but there are no dividends, so far. So Moscow seems to be just waiting. Well, we will wait, too. We remain on the position of integration with Russia, not with Moldova. And the very facts that the Moldovan Metallurgical Plant [MMZ, in the Transnistrian city of Rybnitsa] is owned by Alisher Usmanov [Russian business tycoon] and that the Moldavskaya Power Plant [in Transnistria, the Republic of Moldova's largest energy producer] are precisely the stated integration, which almost all Transnistrians [96%] voted for at the 2006 independence referendum".
Igor Smirnov also said that he has always met understanding from President Dmitry Medvedev - "even a greater understanding than from Vladimir Putin during his presidency".
Infotag
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