There is a fight going on within Moldova between pro-EU factions and pro-Russian supporters. The conflict spilled out in to the open this week as Moldova suddenly recalled its ambassador from Moscow.
Prime Minister Pavel Filip’s government on March 1 said it was recalling Ambassador Dumitru Braghis from Moscow, reports RFERL.
“So far we have not received anything official from them [the Moldovan authorities], Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said on March 2.
“It was quite an unexpected announcement to us,” Karasin said. “Appointing and recalling an ambassador is a state’s sovereign right. But, naturally, we expect to receive some clarification in an unofficial way.”
Pro-Moscow, leftist President Igor Dodon had rejected three government-proposed Moldovan envoys to Britain, Austria, and Belarus earlier in the week which apparently angered the prime minister. Dodon, upon his election, immediately flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin.