[21] Sandu has also suggested an end to Moldova's constitutional commitment to military neutrality in favour of a closer alliance with NATO and strongly condemned Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

EUBAM assists the Moldovan and Ukrainian governments in approximating their border and customs procedures to EU standards and offers support in both countries' fight against cross-border crime.

The foreign minister of Moldova, Andrei Stratan, repeatedly stated that the Russian troops stationed in the breakaway region were there against the will of the Moldovan government and called on them to leave "completely and unconditionally".

[51] On 25 July 2023, the Moldovan government summoned the Russian ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov to Moldova after media reports of alleged spying devices on the rooftop of their embassy in Chişinău.

[52][53] On 26 July 2023, the Moldovan government expelled 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff due to "hostile actions" intended to destabilise the Republic of Moldova, according to Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu.

The law continues with penalties for financing and inciting separatism, plotting against Moldova, and collecting and stealing information that could harm the country's sovereignty, independence and integrity.

Nonetheless, pervasive corruption, links between major political figures and powerful economic interests, and critical deficiencies in the justice sector and the rule of law all continue to hamper democratic governance.

"[91] On 18 June 2023, some 500 LGBT activists and supporters held a Pride parade in the capital city of Chișinău which for the first time needed no heavy police cordons to protect them from protesters largely linked to the Orthodox church.

"[93] In a meeting with the European Union in October 2022, EU representatives "welcomed positive developments in Moldova such as the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, the adoption of legislation on hate crime, and the ongoing work to reform the Electoral Code.

[101] Moldova is a landlocked country situated in Eastern Europe, on the northeastern corner of the Balkans in the Black Sea Basin, between latitudes 45° and 49° N, and mostly between meridians 26° and 30° E (a small area lies east of 30°).

The largest part of the country (around 88% of the area) lies in the Bessarabia region, while a narrow strip in the east is located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria on the eastern bank of the Dniester.

This has transformed the old village of Giurgiulești (in the extreme south-west of the country) into a river port, providing Moldova access to international waters via the Danube and the Black Sea.

[113] Once possessing a range from the British Isles through Central Asia over the Bering Strait into Alaska and Canada's Yukon as well as the Northwest Territories, saigas survived in Moldova and Romania into the late 18th century.

[121] The main transmission channels through which adverse exogenous shocks could impact the Moldovan economy are remittances (also due to potentially returning migrants), external trade, and capital flows.

Russia supplies the breakaway pro-Russian region with oil and natural gas without requiring them to pay, with the cost levied as debt against the Moldovan state as a form of economic warfare.

Although Moldova is barely larger than Belgium, the country has 122,000 hectares of vineyards and is among the 20 largest producers in the world, according to a report by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).

[163] According to Climate-KIC, run by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, "The same region in Moldova can experience intense droughts and devastating floods in the course of a few months, which is the primary concern of local people when they talk about climate.

The country's joining in 2009 of the Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe and adoption of the National Cyber Security Programme for 2016–2020 have established the legislative parameters for a safer digital environment.

Since Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine and their campaign of cyberwarfare against Moldova, the Moldovan government has invested significant money and resources in developing stronger cybersecurity practices and regulations with assistance from the European Union and United States.

[191] On 19 December 2016, the Moldovan parliament approved raising the retirement age to 63 years[192] from the current level of 57 for women and 62 for men, a reform that is part of a 3-year-old assistance programme agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

Since independence, the country has struggled with issues of national identity, geopolitical strategy, and alliances, often torn between Romania and the European Union to the west and the Russian Federation to the east.

In 2014, shortly before the Republic of Moldova signed its EU Association Agreement, nearly 99 per cent of Gagauzians voted in a referendum "to reject closer links with Europe in favour of joining the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.

"[200] Gagauzia continues to represent a serious challenge both to Moldova's territorial sovereignty and political stability due to Russia's systemic involvement in the region, especially by backing pro-Russian local parties and leadership candidates.

[207] Moldova's cultural tradition has been influenced primarily by the Romanian origins of its majority population, the roots of which go back to the second century AD, the period of Roman colonisation in Dacia.

[208] The country's cultural heritage was marked by numerous churches and monasteries built by the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great in the 15th century, by the works of the later renaissance Metropolitans Varlaam and Dosoftei, and those of scholars such as Grigore Ureche, Miron Costin, Nicolae Milescu, Dimitrie Cantemir[f] and Ion Neculce.

[210] Moldova's fertile soil (chernozem) produces plentiful grapes, fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, and milk products, all of which have found their uses in the national cuisine.

In the field of pop music, Moldova has produced the band O-Zone, who came to prominence in 2003, with their hit song "Dragostea Din Tei", which topped multiple notable single charts.

Reporters Without Borders improved Moldova's Press Freedom Index ranking to 28th in 2023 from 89th in 2020, partly due to government legal reforms which made it easier for journalists to access official information.

Independent media are struggling to ensure financial sustainability in the face of diminishing advertisement revenues due to inflation, economic stagnation and uncertainty caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

[229] All six were either owned or affiliated with Ilan Șhor, a fugitive pro-Russian politician and businessman who fled to Israel in 2019 after being convicted of fraud and money-laundering and sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia.