Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has vowed to support embattled Moldovan President Igor Dodon against “usurpers” in the country’s ongoing constitutional crisis.
On Sunday, Moldova’s constitutional court suspended Dodon’s powers and appointed former Prime Minister Pavel Filip as the country’s acting president. Dodon’s ministers have refused to resign, resulting in two separate governments claiming power in the former Soviet republic.
“We will certainly support both President Dodon and his current coalition partners so that they eventually get rid of these … people who have recently usurped [power] in Moldova,” Putin said in an interview with the international Mir TV broadcaster Wednesday.
Putin compared the situation in Moldova to that of Ukraine, saying that power in the country was seized by oligarchs who “crushed all state structures.”
Putin said he believes Dodon’s socialist party and its pro-European coalition partners are working toward building a civilized and modern state.
