France, Moldova To Sign Defence Deal Thursday: Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron and Moldovan leader Maia Sandu will sign a defence cooperation agreement in Paris on Thursday, his office said, as tensions mount between Chisinau and pro-Russian separatists.

Their meeting in the French capital will take place after pro-Russian officials in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria last week appealed to Russia for “protection”. There is mounting concern that the territory could become a new flashpoint in Moscow’s two-year war against Ukraine.