Pictured: Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita speaks ahead of a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the State Department’s Treaty Room in Washington, DC, July 19, 2022. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, February 12, 2023](The Epoch Times reporter Gao Sugi compiled a report) On Friday (February 10), Moldova’s Prime Minister Gavrita announced that she and her government resigned after 18 months in power. The Moldovan president then nominated her defense and security adviser, the pro-Western economist Rexane, as the new prime minister.
The resignation of Natalia Gavrilita and her government came as a surprise to many. That may be because her tenure was sorely tested by Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which killed her reform efforts to lead Moldova into the European Union.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said at a news conference that members of Gavrita’s ruling Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) had accepted her nomination of Dorin Recean for the post. The choice of a new prime minister.
Raytheon, 48, served as interior minister from 2012-2015. He will have 15 days to form a new government to submit to a vote of confidence in parliament. The Action and Unity Party holds a majority in Moldova’s parliament.
“I know that we will need unity and a lot of work to get through the difficult times we are facing. The difficulties in 2022 have delayed some of our plans, but they have not stopped us,” said President Sandu, adding that In 2023, she said, she wanted to focus on reforming key areas such as reforming Moldova’s economy and judiciary.
Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has been seeking closer ties with Western partners since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago. It was granted EU candidate status on the same day as Ukraine last June.
After accepting the nomination, Rethene said he would “start working immediately” on forming a new government. His main focus will be to introduce “order and discipline” in Moldovan institutions, breathe new life into the economy and ensure peace and stability.
Prime Minister Gavrita, who resigned, was a 41-year-old economist. She was appointed prime minister in August 2021. She told a news conference after her resignation that if her government had the same support and trust at home as other European countries, “it would be able to move forward more and faster”.
A long list of problems has arisen during Gavrita’s tenure as prime minister. These include a severe energy crisis after Moscow slashed energy supplies to Moldova, and soaring inflation after the war in Ukraine. To make matters worse, missiles from the Russia-Ukraine war flew over its airspace from time to time, and missile fragments were found in its territory.
She added that no one could have imagined that her government “has to manage so many crises created by Russian aggression in Ukraine.”
“I took over the government with an anti-corruption, pro-growth and pro-European mandate,” Gavrita said, “at a time when corruption had taken over all institutions and the oligarchs felt untouchable. But then immediately we faced the energy (from Russia) Blackmail, and those people expect us to submit.”
She added: “The stakes of our national enemies are that we will, like previous administrations, give up our energy interests and betray our national interests in exchange for short-term gain.”
On Friday, after the Moldovan government confirmed that another missile briefly crossed the country’s skies from a neighboring country’s battlefield, Deputy State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel told the media in Washington: ” For years, Russia has supported influence and destabilization campaigns in Moldova, often involving the use of corruption as a weapon to advance its goals.”
President Sandu said on Friday that he thanked Gavrita for his “tremendous sacrifice and efforts to lead the country through so many crises.”
Editor in charge: Sun Yun #
