Amid domestic political turmoil, Moldova on Tuesday declared its intention to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
"Today we adopted the decision to relocate the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It was a long overdue commitment to support our allies," tweeted Prime Minister Pavel Filip.
"We are in a situation in which we have to approve these decisions in an urgent manner, given the political instability and uncertainty in the country, as one of the political parties has been always blocking these two important decisions while trying to take over the power illegally," Filip said in a statement.
Moldova's rival governments are accusing each other of usurping power amid the escalating political crisis in the impoverished ex-Soviet nation.
After months of deadlock following February's elections in which no party won a majority, the pro-Russian Socialist Party of President Igor Dodon made a surprise announcement over the weekend that it was forming a coalition government with ACUM, Prime Minister Maia Sandu's pro-Europe party.
But the former ruling Democratic Party, controlled by powerful oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, has refused to concede defeat. One of the country's richest men, Plahotniuc is widely seen as Moldova's de facto leader.
On Sunday, the Constitutional Court – regarded as under the control of Plahotniuc – dismissed Dodon as president, and appointed Filip as his replacement. Filip immediately called for parliament to be dissolved and re-elected in snap elections, a move Dodon called unlawful.
Both the new coalition partners and Plahotniuc accuse the other side of usurping power.
In an unusual show of unity, Russia and the West – which have been vying for influence over Moldova for decades – both backed Sandu's government. France, Germany, Poland, Sweden and the UK backed the new ACUM and the Socialists' ruling coalition in a statement Monday.
Plahotniuc's party, in its turn, threatened to expand protests by its supporters.
"The ruling of the Constitutional Court must be implemented," the Democratic Party's deputy chairman, Vladimir Chebotar, said. "Parliament is dissolved and the only government is Pavel Filip's government."
Moldova, one of Europe's poorest nations, has been beset by political turmoil and has been an arena of rivalry between the West and Russia since it won independence after the 1991 collapse of Soviet Union.
US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said on Sunday that the United States "calls on all Moldovan parties to show restraint and to agree on a path forward through political dialogue."
