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Moldovan parliament refuses to hold no confidence vote in Foreign Minister Andrei Galbur

Since only 27 of the 101 members of parliament were present in the parliamentary hall on Thursday and there was no quorum, the voting on the issue was put off

CHISINAU, June 23. /TASS/. Moldovan parliament refused on Thursday to discuss no confidence vote in the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Andrei Galbur, whom the Moldova’s political opposition blames for the recent expulsion of five Russian diplomats and a worsening of relations with Moscow.

Since only 27 of the 101 members of parliament were present in the parliamentary hall on Thursday and there was no quorum, the voting on the issue was put off, parliament speaker Andrian Candu said.

"Under provisions of law, the vote of no confidence is deemed rejected," he said while declaring the parliament’s session closed.

The initiative to hold a no confidence vote came from the opposition Party of Socialists that demanded explanations from the minister. The country’s President Igor Dodon also leveled criticism at Galbur, as he believes the diplomatic row aimed to disrupt his policy of restoring strategic cooperation with Russia.

On Thursday, the chairman of the parliament’s ruling Democratic Party caucus, Marian lupu called the Socialists’ initiative a populist move. He said the socialists were leaving the parliamentary hall and urged other factions to follow them.

The Moldovan government declared the expulsion of Russian diplomats on May 29. The Russian Foreign Ministry took a decision on a symmetric response and expelled five Moldovan diplomats from Russia two days later.

On the face of it, Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip came up with allegations the secret services had provided weighty evidence for the expulsion of Russian diplomats.