Amid rising tensions with Russia, Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita resigned on Friday. President Maia Sandu accepted the resignation and appointed presidential adviser Dorin Recean as his replacement – he must obtain approval from Parliament to lead the Executive.
Gavrilita, who had been in power for a year and a half, said at a press conference that “the time has come to announce my resignation” and that he did not expect “to have to manage so many crises caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine”.
Gavrilita’s term was marked by inflation (which generated protests from the population, classified by the government as a Kremlin strategy to destabilize the country) and by crises with Moscow.
Russia has slashed gas exports to the country, jeopardized power supplies to the former Soviet republic with attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and on Friday violated Moldovan airspace during a missile attack on Ukraine, an action condemned by the government. of Chisinau, who summoned the Russian ambassador in protest.
During the week, Moldova’s intelligence services confirmed plans to destabilize the country denounced in Brussels by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who directly blamed Russia.
“I took office with an anti-corruption, pro-development and pro-European mandate at a time when corruption schemes had captured all institutions and oligarchs felt untouchable,” Gavrilita said on Friday. “We were immediately confronted with energy blackmail, and those who did this expected us to give in.”
“The bet of our country’s enemies was that we would act like previous governments, which gave up energy interests, betrayed the national interest in exchange for short-term benefits,” said the now former prime minister.
Gavrilita’s pro-Western government last year submitted an application for Moldova to join the European Union, a claim that Recean said he intended to pursue. “The new government will have three priorities: order and discipline, a new life and economy, and peace and stability,” Recean said at a press conference.
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