As Moldova tries to align itself with the European Union, the region of Gagauzia continues to lean pro-Russian. Now, there are efforts to get Moldovan officials to engage directly with Gagauzians to draw them away from Moscow’s influence.
Tiny Moldova is Europe’s poorest country, and it relies on exports — mostly to Russia — to keep its economy going. But as it makes overtures to the European Union, Russia is using embargoes to pressure the country and its Russian-speaking minority to resist, drawing inevitable comparisons to Ukraine.