Following numerous crises, government of Moldova resigns

• Moldova is facing rising energy costs, inflation, and Russian aggression due to the conflict.
• Moldova is facing pressure from Russia to join the EU.
• With Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning of a plot to “destroy” the country.

The pro-EU prime minister of Moldova resigned after 18 months of political and economic unrest, and the country’s government has fallen.

The outgoing PM, Natalia Gavrilita, stated on Friday that the poorest nation in Europe was dealing with “many problems.”

Due to the conflict in nearby Ukraine, Moldova has seen rising energy costs, inflation, a surge in refugees, and Russian aggressiveness.

Only a few hours had passed since Russian rockets crossed Moldovan airspace.

When Ms. Gavrilita announced her retirement on Friday, she stated that no one had anticipated her administration would have to deal with “such many crises generated by Russian aggression in Ukraine” when it was elected in 2021.

Due to the consequences of Russia’s invasion, Moldova, which borders Ukraine on 1,222 kilometers (759 miles), is perilously near to going to war.

“I took over the government with an anti-corruption, pro-development and pro-European mandate at a time when corruption schemes had captured all the institutions and the oligarchs felt untouchable,” Ms. Gavrilita said at a news conference.

“We were immediately faced with energy blackmail, and those who did this hoped that we would give in,” she said, referring to the Kremlin.

Last year, a gas supply cutoff from Russia to Moldova, which depended only on Russian gas, triggered an energy crisis. As a result of the high cost of energy, there was popular anger and a sharp rise in inflation.

Ms. Gavrilita was recognized for her “enormous sacrifice and efforts to lead the country in a time of so many difficulties” by President Maia Sandu.

The president remarked, “Where others desired war and bankruptcy, we have stability, peace, and development.

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As the next prime minister, she has already proposed Dorin Recean, a former defence adviser who is also pro-EU. Next Monday, the Moldovan parliament will vote to approve his nomination.

Early on in the conflict in Ukraine, there were worries that it would spread to Moldova or that Russia may attack the country as well.

While for the time being this worry has subsided, pressure from Russia, which has attempted to undermine the former Soviet state and the EU’s influence, has intensified as Moldova gets closer to joining the European Union.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, issued a stern warning on Thursday, claiming that Ukrainian intelligence indicated that Russia had a plot to “destroy” Moldova.

“These documents show who, when and how Russia is going to break democracy of Moldova and establish control,” he told EU leaders at a summit in Brussels.

“I immediately warned Moldova about these threats,” he added.

Moldovan intelligence services later confirmed they had also identified “subversive activities” aimed at “undermining the state of the Republic of Moldova, destabilizing and violating public order.”

There are also renewed tensions in Transnistria, a breakaway territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists that runs along Moldova’s border with Ukraine, and where some 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed.

Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of trying to turn Moldova against Russia – as he claimed it had already done with Ukraine.

When President Sandu’s pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) secured a resounding victory in the legislative vote in August 2021, Natalia Gavrilita was appointed prime minister.

From June to November of 2019, while Ms. Sandu was the prime minister, she served as finance minister.

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