Moldova’s prime minister appointed by Dorin Recean waits as President Maia Sandu (left) announces he has been appointed to form a new government in Chisinau, Moldova, on Friday.
Aurel Obreja/AP
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Aurel Obreja/AP
Moldova’s prime minister appointed by Dorin Recean waits as President Maia Sandu (left) announces he has been appointed to form a new government in Chisinau, Moldova, on Friday.
Aurel Obreja/AP
CHISINAU, Moldova — The President of Moldova has appointed her defense and security adviser, pro-Western economist Dorin Recean, to succeed Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, who unexpectedly resigned on Friday, after 18 months during a term that was severely tested by the war in neighboring Ukraine.
President Maia Sandu told a news conference that members of Gavrilita’s ruling Action and Solidarity Party, or PAS, had accepted her choice of Recean as the new prime minister.
Recean, 48, who served as interior minister from 2012-2015, will have 15 days to form a new government to submit to the National Assembly for a vote of confidence. PAS holds a majority in Parliament.
“I know that we need to be united and work very hard to get through the difficult period we are facing. The difficulties of 2022 have put some of our plans on hold, but they have not been. stop us,” President Sandu said, adding that in 2023 she wants to focus on reforming important areas such as the economy and the judicial sector of Moldova.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has sought to forge closer ties with its Western partners. Last June, it was granted European Union candidate status, on the same day as Ukraine.
Recean said he would “immediately proceed” with the formation of a new government and that his main focus would be to introduce “order and discipline” in Moldova’s institutions, breathing new life into the platform. economy and ensure peace and stability.
After her resignation, Gavrilita, a 41-year-old economist appointed prime minister in August 2021, told a news conference that her government “could move forward more and faster” if they receive the same support and trust in the country as themselves. did from other European countries.
Gavrilita’s position as prime minister was marked by a long string of problems. These include a severe energy crisis after Moscow dramatically reduced supplies to Moldova and soaring inflation following the war in Ukraine. The compound is a missile from the war that has passed through its skies, and rocket debris has been discovered in its territory.
She also said that no one expected her government “to have to deal with a lot of crises caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine.”
Gavrilita said: “I took over the government with the mandate of anti-corruption, pro-development and pro-European at a time when corruption schemes have invaded all institutions and the oligarchs feel untouchable”. “We were immediately confronted with energy blackmail and those who did it hoped that we would give in.”
She added: “The enemies of our country have bet that we will act like previous governments, who gave up their energy interests, betrayed the national interest in exchange for their own. short-term benefit”.
On Friday, after the Moldovan authorities confirmed another missile had briefly crossed the country’s skies since the neighboring war, deputy foreign ministry spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington that ” Russia has for years supported campaigns of influence and destabilization in Moldova, often involving the weaponization of corruption to further its goals.”
Sandu thanked Gavrilita on Friday for her “great sacrifice and effort to lead the country in a time of so much crisis.”
