Pro-Western Recean set to succeed Moldova’s PM who resigned

By CRISTIAN JARDAN and STEPHEN McGRATH
Associated Press

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldova’s president tapped her defense and security adviser, pro-Western economist Dorin Recean, to succeed Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita who unexpectedly resigned Friday, 18 months into a tenure sorely tested by the war in neighboring Ukraine. President Maia Sandu told a news conference that members of Gavrilita’s ruling PAS party accepted her choice of Recean. The 48-year-old former interior minister will have 15 days to form a new government to present to Parliament for a confidence vote. Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has sought to forge closer ties with its Western partners. Last June, it was granted European Union candidate status.