Moldovan Parliament votes to close Russian cultural centre

CHISINAU, Moldova (Reuters) -Moldova's Parliament voted on Thursday to close a Russian cultural centre, a new bid to reduce Moscow's influence in the country a day after Russia's ambassador was summoned over drone intrusions that Moldova said were unacceptable.

Fifty-seven members of the 101-seat assembly backed the measure. Pro-European President Maia Sandu's ruling Party of Action and Solidarity commands a majority in the chamber.

The government said the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Chisinau could serve as an instrument to promote narratives posing a threat to Moldova's security.

Owing to legal considerations, the centre will remain open until July 2026. Its closure has been under discussion for months.

First elected in 2020, Sandu has pressed for Moldova to join the European Union by the end of the decade. She denounces Russia's war in Ukraine and has accused Moscow of trying to destabilise and manipulate public opinion in the ex-Soviet state, which lies between Ukraine and EU member Romania.

Culture Minister Cristian Jordan said the government was unable to establish the nature of the centre's activity because since 2021 it "has not proposed a single joint project or event".

Russia-friendly opposition parties said the government was unable to produce a single example of unlawful activity.

Moldova's Foreign Ministry first called for the centre's closure after drone intrusions into Moldovan airspace earlier this year.

On Wednesday, the ministry denounced the latest incident, which it described as incursions by six Russian drones, as a "serious violation of Moldova's sovereignty and a direct threat to national and regional sovereignty".

Russian ambassador Oleg Ozerov expressed doubt that one of the drones, put on display outside the foreign ministry, was linked to a genuine intrusion and suggested the incident was aimed at spoiling Moscow's already poor relations with Chisinau.

Russia accuses Moldova of pursuing a "Russophobic" agenda of acts unfriendly to Moscow. Each country has expelled diplomats from the other, with the last such instance dating from April.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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