Moldovan President Igor Dodon has warned mayors who signed a declaration on reunification with Romania that they could face criminal charges.
"I am not against any state, be it Russia or Romania, but I am against those who want to get rid of the Moldovan state," the pro-Russia Dodon told RFE/RL on February 6.
The mayors of at least 10 Moldovan villages recently signed a symbolic document marking the centenary of the unification of most of present-day Moldova with Romania at the end of World War I.
Dodon condemned the declaration and criticized Moldova's intelligence service, the Interior Ministry, and the prosecutor's office for not taking action against the mayors who signed it, "although they knew the mayors violated the current laws."
In a Facebook post on February 7, Dodon said the mayors of 53 other villages have signed a counterstatement against unification with Romania and for maintaining Moldova's "statehood."
Dodon rallied against those who he called "unionist ideologues," saying that "instead of unification, they will get pro-Moldovan patriotism."
