Overview
- The cabinet voted on Nov. 5 to end the bilateral framework and said the bill will be submitted to parliament.
- Chisinau began administrative steps in February to shut the Russian Center of Science and Culture, opened in 2009, after a drone incursion.
- The government says the center is funded by Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian cultural diplomacy body under European Union sanctions.
- Culture Minister Cristian Jardan said the center undermined Moldova’s sovereignty, and officials noted Moldova has no cultural center in Russia.
- The Kremlin condemned the move, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressing regret and accusing Moldova of rejecting ties with Russia.