Moldovan President Maia Sandu has said that a proposed union with Romania will take place only if "the people say they want this", noting that the same applies to her country's accession to NATO, Stirileprotv says.

Sandu made the remarks amid a tense situation in Transnistria and after former Prime Minister Iurie Leancă said the country needed to create a "union" with Romania, a NATO member since 2004.

"Union is something that citizens can decide. We are a democratic country and such decisions are made only by the citizens in a democratic way," said Sandu, according to Stirileprotv.

"This can only happen with the support of the people. When the people say they want this, it will happen. As long as the people do not want this or it is not a critical mass of people to support this desideratum, then ... "

Leanca said that if Romania agrees, "we immediately fall under the umbrella of NATO security and the European Union."