Moldovan President dismisses minister for pleading for the country’s unification with Romania

Igor Dodon, the new President of the Republic of Moldova, signed an order on Tuesday to dismiss defense minister Anatol Salaru. He motivated his decision saying that Salaru had broken the country’s Constitution by “flirting with NATO” and by “openly pleading for the unification of the Republic of Moldova with Romania”. Mihai Ghimpu, the leader of the Liberal Party (PL) in Moldova, had asked President Igor Dodon to dismiss Anatol Salaru from his office, although Salaru is also a member of the Liberal Party. Dodon wrote on his Facebook page that the Defense Minister “flirted with NATO knowing (..) that we are a neutral country.” On Monday evening this week, Dodon also said that he will withdraw the Moldovan citizenship of the former Romanian president Traian Basescu by the end of this year. In June this year, Traian Basescu and his wife received the Moldovan citizenship from the former President. Who is Igor Dodon, the new Socialist president of Moldova? editor@romania-insider.com