Russia condemns detention of Moldova's pro-Russian Gagauz leader

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday condemned the arrest of the leader of Moldova's pro-Russian Gagauz ethnic minority, saying it was a blatant example of trying to use the methods of a police state to neutralise an opponent of President Maia Sandu.

Police in Moldova detained Eugenia Gutul at Chisinau's international airport late on Tuesday, following the unexplained disappearance of two other wanted pro-Russian lawmakers.

Gutul, the leader, or bashkan, of Gagauzia, was being held for 72 hours in the capital, said Angela Starinschi, an official with Moldova's Anti-Corruption Centre.

"The current authorities use methods of the most blatant pressure on current politicians who are somewhat popular and somehow compete with Maia Sandu," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, noted that opponents of Sandu were complaining that the republic had been "turned into a police state".

"It is obvious to any unbiased observer that it is precisely those Moldovan politicians and journalists who advocate building constructive relations with the Russian Federation who are under the most fierce pressure," Zakharova said.

Gagauzia, a 140,000-strong region in the south of Moldova, is dominated by ethnic Turks who favour close ties with Russia, adhere to Orthodox Christianity and have had uneasy relations with central authorities since Moldovan independence in 1991.

Gutul, a fierce critic of the government, was elected bashkan in 2023.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov in Moscow, writing by Anna Kozlova; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)