Moldova President ‘Very Seriously’ Considering Moving Embassy To Jerusalem
Igor Dodon Image by Getty Images
(JTA) — Moldova’s president said his country would “very seriously consider” moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, according to Jewish interlocutors who met with him.
Igor Dodon said this during a meeting last week with Euro-Asian Jewish Congress leaders in connection with his visit earlier this month to Israel, the Newsmaker website reported.
Israel is interested in having as many countries as possible follow in the footsteps of the United States, which moved its embassy to Jerusalem in May. The European Union and Arab countries were among the harshest critics of the move, which they said may be harmful to attempts to reach a permanent peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, who both claim the city’s east.
The announcement on Moldova’s decision to consider the move comes amid heightened tensions between Moldova and the European Union, which the landlocked country bordering Romania has sought to enter.
Last month, the European Parliament warned Moldova’s government that it would end the visa waiver program it has with Moldova unless more steps are made to fight corruption.
Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, recently received a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who vehemently opposes recognition of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.
Dodon in an interview with the news website Aif included the Turkish president’s visit as one of his government’s top three foreign policy achievements.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
