The parliament of Moldova on March 17 voted to remove references to the "Moldovan" language from the country's constitution and enshrine Romanian as the official language for all legislation. Lawmakers asserted that "Moldovan" is actually indistinguishable from Romanian, and that the notion that it is a separate language is a product of Soviet propaganda. The vote was applauded by Romania, whose foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu stated that the Moldovan language is an "artificial construct."

But pro-Russian Moldovan lawmakers assailed the move—as did the Russian Foreign Ministry, whose spokesperson Maria Zakharova snarkily suggested that Aurescu is an "artificial construct." Zakharova claimed that Moldovan is a distinct and older form of Romanian, which is now "officially preserved only in Transnistria," the breakaway region of Moldova hosting Russian troops. (PRI, Romania Insider, RFE/RL)

Moldova swapped hands between Romania and Russia for centuries, before winning independence from the USSR in 1991, consolidated in a popular referendum in 1994. In recent years, an initiative has emerged in Romania to promote annexation of Moldova, led by a parliamentary group called "Friends of the Union." (Black Sea)