Moldova

CHISINAU, May 22. /TASS/: The Comrat Court of Appeals has certified the victory of Evghenia Gutul from the Sor opposition party in the gubernatorial runoff in Moldova’s Gagauz autonomy at its meeting on Monday.

"To recognize as valid the mandate of Evghenia Gutul, the elected head of Gagauzia. The decision takes effect immediately after being passed," Judge Andrei Mironov read out the ruling. The court's meeting looked into the Central Election Commission’s report about the results of the election on May 14.

08 May 2023; AA: Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria said its authorities are asking Russia to increase the number of peacekeepers in the region.

“Peacekeepers are the main security factor on the (banks of the) Dniester," and they pose "the main obstacle" against Ukraine and Moldova, head of the breakaway region’s representative office in Moscow Leonid Manakov told Russia’s RIA news agency in an interview.

CHISINAU, April 19 (Reuters) - Moldova summoned the Russian ambassador on Wednesday to declare a member of the Russian embassy staff persona non grata, a government spokesperson said.

Government press secretary Daniel Vode told reporters the decision was connected to the actions of embassy staff towards Moldovan border guards who denied entry to a regional Russian politician at Chisinau airport this week.

The embassy staffer was not named.

CHISINAU, April 11. /TASS/: The majority of Moldovan citizens oppose the idea of the country abandoning neutrality and joining NATO, President Maia Sandu said on Tuesday.

"The people should want it because it means changes to the constitution and should be done through a referendum. However, if we look at opinion polls today, we will see that there is no serious support for the idea of abandoning neutrality," she said in an interview with PRO TV.

CHISINAU, March 12. /TASS/: Clashes between the police and participants in a thousand-strong protest rally took place in central Chisinau on Sunday, according to a TASS correspondent.

CHISINAU, March 10 (Reuters) - A coup attempt, bomb hoaxes, internet hacks, fake conscription call-ups, mass protests: Moldova says it's had them all in the past year.

"We had an explosion of security threats starting February 24 last year," Interior Minister Ana Revenco told Reuters, describing a catalogue of crises she says has beset her nation and its pro-Western government since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This small European country, a former Soviet republic, is a unique geopolitical cauldron.

CHISINAU, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Moldova dismissed an accusation by Russia's defence ministry on Thursday that Ukraine planned to invade the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria after staging a false flag operation, and called for calm.

The Russian news agency RIA said Ukraine, which borders Moldova, planned to stage an attack by purportedly Russian forces from Transdniestria as a pretext for the invasion. Russia keeps troops in the breakaway region.

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldova’s pro-Western Prime Minister-designate Dorin Recean will propose a new government to lawmakers on Thursday for a confidence vote, as the small country signals a shift to security concerns amid Russia’s ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine.

Recean, a 48-year-old economist who served for a year as President Maia Sandu’s defense and security adviser, was appointed by her last week after Natalia Gavrilita suddenly quit the premiership.

CHISINAU, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Moldova closed its air space for undisclosed safety reasons on Tuesday before later reopening it, a day after the small east European country accused Russia of plotting to bring down its government.

Russia denied the accusation by President Maia Sandu, who has repeatedly expressed concern about Russia's intentions towards the former Soviet republic since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

CHISINAU, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Moldova's president accused Russia on Monday of planning to use foreign saboteurs to bring down her tiny country's leadership, stop it joining the European Union and use it in the war against Ukraine.

President Maia Sandu made her comments after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week his country had uncovered a Russian intelligence plan "for the destruction of Moldova", and days after the country's government resigned.