MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. After dismantling Gagauzia’s autonomy, the Moldovan authorities will resort to force methods in Transnistria, a Russian lawmaker said, commenting on the removal of Gagauz head Evghenia Gutsul from office.

"Today, [Moldovan President] Maia Sandu is dismantling the Gagauz autonomy and tomorrow she will proceed with a forcible resolution of the Transnistrian issue. After that, there will be nothing that can prevent Romania from swallowing Moldova," Alyona Arshinova told TASS.

On Monday, Gagauzia’s parliament, based on a court ruling and the law on the autonomy’s special legal status, decided that Gutsul could no longer perform her duties and declared her position as head of the autonomy vacant. Some lawmakers slammed her removal as "unnecessarily hasty" and called for waiting for a decision from the supreme court.