Moldova has no right to prevent Russian citizens in Transnistria from voting in State Duma elections, she pointed out.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced attempts by European countries to move nuclear weapons closer to Russian borders.

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At a briefing on the sidelines of the International Festival of Youth (IFY), the Russian diplomat commented on Finland’s move to join a France-led nuclear deterrence initiative.

“Well, what else drives European authorities’ attempts, as part of the expansion of their nuclear outreach, to pull nuclear weapons closer to Russian borders… under the pretext of an alleged Russian threat, as sovereign countries agree to host them despite the will of their own citizens?” Zakharova asked rhetorically.

“This, among other things, significantly facilitates the task for our military, which would have an expanded arsenal of potential means of destruction to strike relevant facilities even from a shorter range — of course, in the event of conflict,” she argued, as reported by the TASS agency.

Ukraine as a state is in agony and is devouring its own creators, Maria Zakharova said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman made the statement while commenting on sanctions imposed by Zelensky against his former press secretary, Mendel.

Other statements by Zakharova:… pic.twitter.com/W1Tlaeo02c

— Elisabeth Eliseeva SPUTNIK (@Eliseevanews) September 15, 2026

At the news conference, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also mentioned that Moldova has no right to deprive Russian citizens in Transnistria of the opportunity to vote in elections to the State Duma.

“Russian citizens have the right to freely express their will; this is one of the fundamental human rights. By the way, these are precisely the same values, including Western values, by the way, Western European ones, to which Chisinau seems to have sworn allegiance,” Zakharova said.

“Both Russia and, by the way, Moldova have obligations in this regard, including within the OSCE framework. There are 200,000, even more than 200,000 Russian citizens living in Transnistria,” the Russian diplomat said, referring to Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihail Popsoi.

“Was it FM Popsoi who decided that they could be deprived of the right to vote? Chisinau has no right to deprive residents on the right bank of the Dniester of the opportunity to vote. They should not hide behind any made-up pretexts,” Zakharova pointed out.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: TASS

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