FILE PHOTO: Members of an electoral commission count votes after polling stations closed in the course of Moldova's presidential election and a referendum on joining the European Union, in Chisinau, Moldova October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia was monitoring the ongoing presidential election in Moldova, but was not interfering in it despite a flurry of allegations from the West and Moldova's pro-Western president to the contrary.
Moldova is holding an election runoff on Sunday in which pro-Western President Maia Sandu will attempt to win a second term in a country that has become a diplomatic battleground between Russia and the European Union.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow strongly denied allegations it had been trying to meddle in the vote and questioned the way in which the authorities in Moldova had been overseeing the campaign.
Moscow has accused the Moldovan authorities of using dirty methods to sideline pro-Moscow voices. The authorities say they have acted to snuff out illegitimate pro-Moscow influence operations.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
