Moldova

Moldova's pro-Russian President, Igor Dodon, has called on all members of the huge Moldovan diaspora in Russia to vote in the next Moldovan elections on February 24, 2019, whether or not they have issues with their Russian work and residence permits.

He has promised that Moscow will turn a blind eye to such problems if they come home to vote.

Home to some 700,000 inhabitants, Moldova's capital, Chisinau, may not be the most aesthetically pleasing of European capitals, but its unique mix of brutalist architecture, modern high-rises and plenty of green space give it a charm of its own.

The pro-European road is the only solution for the Republic of Moldova and for the prosperity of the Moldovan people, Romania's Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said on Thursday at a joint news conference with her Moldovan counterpart Pavel Filip at the end of a joint meeting of the two national governments.

The Republic of Moldova and Romania have a special relationship, they share "a common linguistic space, a common cultural space, and a common realm of values," Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip said on Thursday in Bucharest.

Moldova has approved amending a bilateral agreement with Turkey, which will eliminate the need for transport authorizations for exports by both countries.

The new rules will apply to bilateral trade between Turkey and Moldova, and for transiting goods in both countries.

Bilateral, economic and commercial relations between Romania and the Republic of Moldova need to be boosted, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said on Thursday at the start of the the two countries' Government sitting.

A Romanian police raid on Thursday revealed that thousands of Moldovans have paid for fake addresses to get citizenship of EU-member Romania and an official residence in Bucharest.

The Moldovan intelligence service, SIS, on Wednesday said it had broken up a paramilitary group that had links to the pro-Russian separatist cause in eastern Ukraine.

The SIS said the group had been under counter-terrorist surveillance for over a year, and the SIS had in the meantime established connections between its members and mercenary entities in eastern Ukraine.

A Moldovan diplomatic mission will arrive in Moscow on Thursday for the first inter-ministerial talks since April 2017, when Moldova froze ties with Russia after accusing Russia of trying to kill the ruling pro-Western Democratic Party's leader, Vlad Plahotniuc.

Moldova also claimed that its officials were harassed by the Russian authorities every time they visited the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday gave inflated figures for Moldova-Russia trade during a meeting at the Kremlin with his Moldovan counterpart Igor Dodon.

The Russian leader said that exports of Moldovan goods to the Russian market grew by 14 per cent in the first half of this year, although statistical data shows that they actually decreased by 8 per cent.