Following the drone invasion incident that led to a meeting with the Russian ambassador, the Moldovan Parliament voted on Thursday (November 27) to shut down the Russian Cultural Center in an effort to weaken Moscow’s influence on the country’s public opinion.
In the vote on November 27, 57 out of 101 members of parliament supported the resolution. The ruling party “Party of Action and Solidarity” (PAS), led by pro-European President Maia Sandu, holds the majority in the parliament.
The Moldovan government stated that the Russian Scientific and Cultural Center in the capital, Chisinau, could potentially serve as a channel for Russian propaganda threatening Moldova’s security narrative.
Discussions about closing the center started months ago in the country, but due to legal considerations, the center will continue to operate until July 2026.
Since her election as president in 2020, Sandu has been advocating for Moldova’s accession to the European Union before the end of the century. She has condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine and accused Moscow of attempting to destabilize and manipulate public opinion in this former Soviet state.
Moldova, an inland country located in northeastern Southeastern Europe, shares borders with Romania and Ukraine, surrounded by Ukraine to the east, south, and north, and neighboring Romania, an EU member state, to the west.
Moldova’s Culture Minister Cristian Jordan stated that the government could not confirm the nature of the activities at the cultural center as it has not presented any joint projects or activities since 2021.
On the other hand, the pro-Russian opposition party has argued that the government has failed to provide concrete examples of any illegal activities by the center.
Earlier this year, following the Russian drone invasion of Moldovan airspace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made its first request to close the center.
On Wednesday (November 26), the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the incident involving six Russian drones violating the country’s airspace, labeling it as a “serious violation of Moldova’s sovereignty, posing a direct threat to national and regional sovereignty.”
Russian Ambassador Oleg Ozerov questioned whether one of the drones shown to the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs is genuinely linked to the invasion incident, hinting that this move aims to worsen the already strained relations between Moscow and Chisinau.
The two countries have previously expelled each other’s diplomats, with the most recent incident occurring in April of this year.
(Reference: Reuters)