Moldova briefly closed its air space on Tuesday, a day after the country’s president accused Russia of trying to orchestrate a coup there.
The national carrier, Air Moldova, said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon that the country’s air space was closed, without providing an explanation. About two hours later, the airline said that air space had reopened.
The Moldovan president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Moldova, a small country between Romania and Ukraine, has been unsettled over the past year by wayward Russian rockets, aimed at Ukraine, traveling over its territory. On Friday, a Russian missile fired from the Black Sea flew over Moldova on its way to Ukraine, and Moldova’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to discuss the incident.
Moldova has also faced economic problems driven in part by an energy squeeze across Europe as the continent pushes to wean itself off Russia’s fossil fuels.
Under President Maia Sandu, who was elected to a four-year term in 2020, Moldova has tilted increasingly toward the West. Russia has tried to punish Moldova by choking off supplies of natural gas and using local proxies to foment unrest.
On Monday, Ms. Sandu accused Russia of trying to topple her government through orchestrated protests, echoing claims made by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Neither Ms. Sandu nor Mr. Zelensky have provided evidence for their assertions.
“The Kremlin’s attempts to bring violence to Moldova will not work,” Ms. Sandu said.
Moldova’s pro-Western prime minister, Natalia Gavrilita, who had held the position since 2021, resigned on Friday. Officials and analysts said that her departure would not push the former Soviet republic back into Moscow’s orbit or change its aspirations to join the European Union.
