Russia on Tuesday denounced Moldova's weekend election as unfair and said it did not see the winner, Maia Sandu, as the legitimate president of the country. Pro-Western Sandu defeated a former prosecutor general backed by a traditionally pro-Russian party in a vote marred by allegations of election meddling by Moscow,

"She is not, as far as we understand, the president of her country because, in the country itself, the majority of the population did not vote for her," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Moldovans vote on Sunday in a presidential runoff that has been overshadowed by election meddling allegations and could see Moscow gain more influence in a diplomatic battleground between Russia and the European Union.

Moldovans vote in the second round of a crucial presidential election on Sunday, which could determine whether the post-Soviet country stays its course toward Europe or lurches back into the Kremlin’s orbit.

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.