After sudden resignation
Moldova appoints new prime minister
02/10/2023, 6:40 p.m
Moldova’s Prime Minister Gavrilita is stepping down after only a year and a half in office. Interior Minister Recean is to move up; his election is considered a formality. The 48-year-old is taking on a difficult inheritance, because the ex-Soviet republic is in Russia’s crosshairs.
Moldova has appointed a successor to outgoing Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita. In the future, Interior Minister Dorin Recean will be in charge of government affairs, as President Maia Sandu announced. Like Sandu and Gavrilita, Recean is pro-European. “The new government will be formed immediately and will lead the country on the path of reconstruction,” Sandu said in a televised address. With the Pas party she founded holding 63 seats in the 101-seat parliament, the 48-year-old Recean is expected to be smoothly elected as the new prime minister.
“We need unity to get through the difficult time we are going through,” Sandu said, adding that the country will face the crisis “with heads held high”. Gavrilita had previously submitted her resignation as head of government after only a year and a half in office. “It’s time for me to go,” the 45-year-old told reporters, citing “a lack of support and trust in the country.”
Kyiv: Russia plans to destabilize Moldova
On Thursday, the country’s secret service warned that Russia was planning to destabilize Moldova. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously stated that Kiev had uncovered a corresponding plan by Moscow. Moldova had previously accused Russia of arms and human trafficking and financing anti-government protests.
Sandu thanked Gavrilita for “her sacrifice and tremendous effort to rule through so many crises”. During her short tenure, Gavrilita faced numerous challenges, particularly in the area of energy supplies. Located between EU member Romania and Ukraine, the small ex-Soviet republic with 2.6 million inhabitants is heavily dependent on Russia for its energy supply. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian state-owned company Gazprom drastically reduced its gas supplies.
In addition, massive power outages occurred in Moldova after Russian air raids on Ukrainian energy plants. Due to its geographical location and economic dependency, Moldova fears Russian influence. This concern is exacerbated by the presence of Russian troops in the breakaway region of Transnistria on the border with Ukraine. In a new series of attacks on Ukraine, a Russian missile also flew over Moldova on Friday. Moldova’s foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador because of the “unacceptable” airspace violation.