Moldovan language

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Romania of occupying Bessarabia until 1940. She was angered by a Romanian Foreign Ministry announcement praising the replacement of the Moldovan language with Romanian in all Moldovan laws as a "restoration of scientific truth".

The Romanian Foreign Ministry said that state secretary Dan Neculaescu called on Ukraine on Friday to stop recognising Moldovan as a separate language from Romanian.

Officials and cultural figures laid flowers at the statue of Stephen the Great in the centre of Chisinau and at statues of Romanian-language writers in Central Park in the capital.

President Maia Sandu broadcast a video message celebrating the Romanian language and other languages spoken in the country.

The Alliance for the Union of Romanians, AUR announced on Monday that it plans to open branches in neighbouring Moldova as part of its campaign to reunify the country with Romania.

The AUR, which has 47 MPs in the 465-seat Romania parliament, is a nationalist party with a religious-based, anti-LGBT orientation and wants to impose a conservative, "patriotic" education system.

The Romanian Academy of Sciences on Thursday dismissed claims put forward by the President of Moldova in Strasbourg that his country has its own language.

It said the theme of a "Moldovan language" promoted by President Igor Dodon at a speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Wednesday was a revival of Soviet-era tropes.

The European Commision President, Jean-Claude Juncker, apologised on Wednesday to a Romanian MEP for the appearance of the phrase "Moldovan language" on the website of European Commision - calling it a "regrettable administrative error".

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday approved a draft bill signed by 35 MPs to amend the law so that the official language is classified as Romanian instead of Moldovan.

The draft was initiated two weeks ago by a small group of MPs from Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova and signed by other pro-European deputies in parliament.

Moldova has banned a Romanian citizen who champions the cause of reunification with Romania - of which Moldova was once a part.