Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information A bust of Lenin is stashed in the stairway of the Regional History Museum in Comrat on June 11 a majority Russian-speaking autonomous region of Moldova Moldova’s president is determined to take her country into the European Union A pro-Russian region shows how critical — and fraught — that mission is.  2024 at 12:00 AM EDTBookmarkSaveIt’s Friday evening on the Moldovan steppe when Ivan Bessarab abandons his rounds of the construction site and ambles over The two are watching over a future fun park though there’s little to protect beyond some new streetlights a pile of timber and a scaffolding arch that will carry its name: GagauziaLand A field in one of Europe’s poorest countries may seem like an inauspicious place for a family attraction Having lost much of its support among Moldovans following its invasion of Ukraine the Kremlin is prepared to use the Gagauzia region to destabilize the situation in Moldova and undermine its pro-EU president EnglishEnglishРусскийLink copiedby Galiya IbragimovaPublished on May 22, 2024blog Carnegie PolitikaCarnegie Politika is a digital publication that features unmatched analysis and insight on Russia Carnegie Politika has published contributions from members of Carnegie’s global network of scholars and well-known outside contributors and has helped drive important strategic conversations and policy debates Moldova’s eastern breakaway region of Transnistria is not the country’s only region under Russian influence which also declared its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union but then returned to Moldova as an autonomous unit—albeit not without lingering disagreements Those tensions have been exacerbated by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine: Chisinau has condemned Russian aggression while the authorities in Gagauzia’s main city Comrat defend the “Russian world” in Moldova Gagauzia now threatens to become Moldova’s second separatist pro-Russian region but Moscow expressed support for it: the Kremlin has always capitalized on pro-Russian sentiment in Gagauzia and Transnistria to keep Moldova in its sphere of interests Tensions between Comrat and Chisinau were further inflamed by the election of Evghenia Gutsul as the başkan (governor) of Gagauzia in the spring of 2023 Gutsul was nominated by the party of the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor who has been sentenced in Moldova in absentia to fifteen years in prison for the theft of $1 billion from the national budget which had been the practice for previous governors of the autonomy in line with the law on the special legal status of Gagauzia the main bank of the Russian defense sector on extra payments of around $100 to employees of local government structures and retirees in Gagauzia via Mir payment cards Comrat is not ready to follow in Transnistria’s footsteps by really escalating relations with Chisinau While their relationship might be complicated Gagauzia is deeply integrated into Moldova’s political and economic life Just a couple of years ago, it seemed that Comrat and Chisinau had moved on from their quarreling and begun constructive dialogue. However, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine brought foreign policy front and center once again. Ilan Shor wants to use Gagauzia to destabilize the situation in Moldova. So does Russia, which lost the support of much of the population in Moldova due to its aggression against Ukraine The Kremlin is willing to align with anyone in order to regain its influence and undermine President Sandu—even with Shor who was until recently banned from entering Russia due to accusations of financial machinations At the same time, the Gagauz distrust of Chisinau goes deeper than the Kremlin’s and Shor’s scheming. Sooner or later, the Moldovan government will need to develop a clear program for building relations with the headstrong autonomy, and right now there is no sign of any such plan. Carnegie Politika is a digital publication that features unmatched analysis and insight on Russia, Ukraine and the wider region. For nearly a decade, Carnegie Politika has published contributions from members of Carnegie’s global network of scholars and well-known outside contributors and has helped drive important strategic conversations and policy debates. The return of Transnistria to Chișinău’s jurisdiction, or even just the launch of that process, will at the very least greatly strain the resources and state apparatus of the impoverished republic, if not plunge it into chaos. The differences between Moscow and the Vatican have been laid bare in recent years by the war in Ukraine and the ideological convictions of Pope Francis.   Perhaps each of the parties was hoping that one of the others would have such a vested interest in continuing the transit that they would agree to lose face and make concessions, but in the end everyone was prepared to suffer rather than give anything away to the enemy. While informal diplomacy helps the Kremlin to be more nimble, in the long term it risks undermining Russia’s reliability as an international partner. The breakaway republic of Transnistria has been plunged into an energy crisis following the end of Ukrainian transit of Russian gas. If it is Kyiv and not Moscow that comes to the unrecognized statelet’s aid, Russia risks losing any remaining influence in the region. Turla has updated its ComRAT backdoor and now uses the Gmail web interface for Command and Control Matthieu Faou ESET researchers have found a new version of one of the oldest malware families run by the Turla group, ComRAT. Turla, also known as Snake, is an infamous espionage group that has been active for more than ten years. We have previously described many campaigns attributed to this group ComRAT, also known as Agent.BTZ and to its developers as Chinch, is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) that became infamous after its use in a breach of the US military in 2008 exhibited worm capabilities by spreading through removable drives two new major versions of the RAT were released both employed the well-known Turla XOR key: 1dM3uu4j7Fw4sjnbcwlDqet4F7JyuUi4m5Imnxl1pzxI6as80cbLnmz54cs5Ldn4ri3do5L6gs923HL34x2f5cvd0fk6c1a0s the Turla developers made a few changes to ComRAT but these variants were apparently still derived from the same code base From Agent.BTZ to ComRAT v4: A ten‑year journey we noticed that a very different version of ComRAT had been released This new version used a completely new code base and was far more complex than its predecessors Here are the main characteristics of this malware family: we believe that ComRAT is used exclusively by Turla There are a few elements linking ComRAT v4 to Turla: we were able to gain insights about what Turla operators were doing on the compromised machines The main use of ComRAT is stealing confidential documents its operators even deployed a .NET executable to interact with the victim’s central MS SQL Server database containing the organization’s documents SQL command to dump documents from the central database (partially redacted) These documents were then compressed and exfiltrated to a cloud storage provider such as OneDrive or 4shared Cloud storage is mounted using the net use command as shown in Figure 2 Command to mount a OneDrive folder using net use (partially redacted) the operators also run many commands to gather information about the Active Directory groups or users or Microsoft Windows configurations such as the group policies Figure 3 is a list of commands executed by Turla operators we also noticed that Turla operators are aware of and try to evade security software they regularly exfiltrate security-related log files in order to understand whether their malware samples have been detected This shows the level of sophistication of this group and its intention to stay on the same machines for a long time the first known sample of ComRAT v4 was compiled in April 2017 The most recent iteration of the backdoor we’ve seen was Based on ESET telemetry, we believe that ComRAT is installed using an existing foothold such as compromised credentials or via another Turla backdoor. For instance, we've seen ComRAT installed by PowerStallion their PowerShell-based backdoor we described in 2019 The ComRAT installer is a PowerShell script that creates a Windows scheduled task and fills a Registry value with the encrypted payload Figure 4 is an overview of ComRAT’s architecture Figure 4 ComRAT v4 has two different C&C channels: HTTP (known internally as legacy) which (surprise surprise) uses the HTTP protocol In the latter mode and using cookies stored in the configuration it connects to the Gmail web interface in order to check the inbox and download specific mail attachments that contain encrypted commands These commands are sent by the malware operators from another address generally hosted on a different free email provider such as GMX A detailed technical analysis of all ComRAT’s components is available in the white paper ComRAT v4 is a totally revamped malware family released in 2017 Its developers took inspiration from other Turla backdoors Its most interesting feature is the use of the Gmail web UI to receive commands and exfiltrate data it is able to bypass some security controls because it doesn’t rely on any malicious domain We also noticed that this new version abandoned the use of COM object hijacking for persistence the method that gave the malware its common name We found indications that ComRAT v4 was still in use at the beginning of 2020 showing that the Turla group is still very active and a major threat for diplomats and militaries A full and comprehensive list of Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) and samples can be found in the full white paper and in our GitHub repository or to make sample submissions related to the subject TheWizards APT group uses SLAAC spoofing to perform adversary-in-the-middle attacks Shifting the sands of RansomHub’s EDRKillShifter You will always remember this as the day you finally caught FamousSparrow This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page You don't have permissions to access this page and SOC security to respond quicker and stop breaches early AI agents boost business—but create risks and strategies from industry leaders – all for free Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Moldova (AP) — Across the border from war-engulfed Ukraine impoverished Moldova — an ex-Soviet republic now looking eagerly Westward — has watched with trepidation as the Russian invasion unfolds autonomous part of the country that's traditionally felt closer to the Kremlin than the West which they never wanted to leave when Moldova gained independence most have trouble identifying with either side in the war Anna Koejoglo says she's deeply conflicted my own son is in Kyiv,” the 52-year-old said my insides are burning,” she told The Associated Press Koejoglo is one of Moldova’s 160,000 Gagauz an Orthodox Christian people of Turkic origin who were settled there by the Russian Empire in the 19th century They make up over 80% of Gagauzia's population but only 5% of Moldova’s 2.6 million people when landlocked Moldova voted to leave the Soviet Union its Gagauz and Russian minorities wanted to stay But unlike Russian-backed separatists in eastern Moldova who took up arms in 1992 to establish the unrecognized breakaway Trans-Dniester area — which Russia essentially controls maintaining some 1,500 troops there — the Gagauz in the south chose to compromise they reached an agreement with the government in Moldova’s capital Gagauzia has maintained a strong relationship with Russia where many Gagauz find education and job opportunities Its population generally opposes the pro-Western shift embraced by ethnic Moldovans who account for 75% of the country’s people “(The) Gagauzian population supports Russia more Although Moldova is neutral militarily and has no plans to join NATO it formally applied for EU membership when the Russian invasion began It's also taken in about a tenth of the more than 2.3 million Ukrainians who fled their country for safety has no qualms in laying the blame with Moscow I’d rather support (Ukrainian) refugees,” than Russia There's similar sentiment elsewhere among Moldova's rich patchwork of ethnic minorities — even expressed by ethnic Russians who live outside the separatist region of Trans-Dniester described the invasion of Ukraine as a “terrible thing." He said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin “went too far (and) needs to calm down.” The 79-year-old added that the issue has become a subject of heated debates among his ethnic kin in Moldova’s second largest city where ethnic Russians make up some 15% of the population An ethnic Ukrainian who lives in Balti said her sympathies were divided “I’m very sorry for the people of Ukraine .. but I also feel sorry for Russians,” said Iulia Popovic “I understand that it is all (happening because of) politics and that the situation is very difficult.” Follow the AP’s coverage of the Ukraine crisis at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine rewritten or redistributed without permission Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations The new leader of Moldova’s region of Gagauzia expressed gratitude at her inauguration on Wednesday (19 July) to a wealthy magnate convicted in absentia for fraud and stood by her calls for closer ties with Russia News Service Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to journalistic standards Newly elected head of Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia (ATUG) Evghenia Gutul (C) speaks to media after her official inuaguration ceremony in Comrat No official representative from Chisinau was present to the ceremony There is ongoing investigation about electoral fraud in Gagauzia The assembly in a pro-Russian region of Moldova on Tuesday (16 May) endorsed the election of a local leader intent on improving ties with Moscow a move that set up a clash with the country's pro-European government Several thousand protesters denouncing Moldova's pro-Western leaders marched through ex-Soviet state's capital for the sixth consecutive Sunday (23 October) and set up a new tent camp days after police cleared a similar encampment The appearance of a detachment of Russian Cossacks in Moldova’s Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia has not only unsettled some residents there but also spotlights Moscow’s efforts to use the Christian Turkic Gagauz people—alongside Transnistria—against the Moldovan government in Chisinau The Cossacks’ presence incites a dangerous game that could lead to the breakup of this small Eastern European country and spark serious internal conflicts that the Russian government would likely move to exploit ethnic Russian Cossacks appeared in Gagauzia They have sought formal recognition as a public organization from the republic’s justice ministry named several members of the National Assembly as senior officers and announced their intention to “preserve the motherland” by whatever means might be necessary (gagauzinfo.md/index.php?newsid=6982) many Gagauz loyal to the Moldovan state—particularly some veterans of the Transnistria War (March–July 1992)—were outraged by what they saw as the latest threat to the territorial integrity of their country and spoke out against it Their complaints in turn prompted the autonomous region’s Presidium of the National Assembly last Friday to issue a stinging denunciation of those who had criticized the appearance of the Russian Cossacks in the local capital of Comrat as “a provocation” planned by “extremist forces intolerant of the national minorities and numerically small peoples of Moldova” (gagauzinfo.md/index.php?newsid=7100) The Presidium statement expressed anger and surprise at the negative reaction from those groups who had fought against Russian forces in Transnistria Claims by veterans groups that the Russian Cossacks who have come to Comrat “threaten the independence security and territorial integrity of the country are strange at the very least,” the parliamentary leadership said “The Presidium of the National Assembly evaluates this demarche of a group of veterans of the Dniestria war [sic] as a provocation planned by extremist groups” and as a challenge to the Gagauz people “who stand for the defense of the statehood of Moldova and oppose any kind of unionist aspirations” between Moldova and Romania which has been created on the territory of Gagauzia has arisen not for war with Moldova but for the defense of the collective and individual rights and authority of the Gagauz people which alongside the Moldovans are a state-forming element of the country.” The declaration then suggested that it is the critics of the appearance of the Russian Cossacks in Gagauzia rather than the Cossacks and their local supports who are creating the conditions for “the liquidation of the territorial integrity of the country the exacerbation of the situation there and the loss of security.” The Gagauzian legislature argued that the Russian Cossack unit has specified that “one of its goals is the defense of the statehood of the Republic of Moldova.” The Presidium statement concluded by expressing the hope that “all people of good will” and all the multi-national people of Moldova” will join it in condemning the extremist attacks of the ‘pseudo-patriots’” who in fact by their support for expanding ties with Romania are a real threat to the independence and territorial integrity of the republic and of the Moldovan and Gagauz people the real situation is almost the exact opposite of the way in which the statement of the Presidium of the Gagauz parliament describes it the appearance of yet another armed group in a place that is currently one of the most heavily-armed populations in Europe is almost an invitation to the kind of violence that could lead to instability that Chisinau would find difficult to contain the arrival of a Russian Cossack unit in Gagauzia is about far more than the fate of that 200,000-strong autonomous region It is about Transnistria in the first instance Amid more pressure on Chisinau from a new direction pro-Moscow officials in Tiraspol clearly hope to be able to extract more concessions from the central government or even force it to accept as a fait accompli the exit of Transnistria from Moldova a step that would entail tragic consequences for the entire region as any number of sources including the New York Times this past Sunday have noted Russian Cossacks can do things that Russian officials cannot thus giving Moscow a useful tool to promote its interests that it can disown should that at some point be required If the Cossacks do destabilize the situation Russian officials can use that as leverage against Chisinau either to push the Kremlin’s agenda on Transnistria or to cause the Moldovan government to turn toward Moscow rather than the West If the Cossacks create a problem the Russian government cannot exploit then Moscow can declare that it has nothing to do with their actions The situation in a place most people have never heard could thus become important it is but the latest example of the frequent prognostication that “some damn fool thing in the Balkans”—first prophetically uttered by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the late 19th century—will trigger broader problems for Europe and the world Image: Tanguy Keryhuel ZDNetUS Cyber Command has exposed eight new malware samples that were developed and deployed by Russian hackers in recent attacks Cyberwar and the Future of Cybersecurity Today's security threats have expanded in scope and seriousness There can now be millions -- or even billions -- of dollars at risk when information security isn't handled properly Both ComRAT and Zebrocy are malware families that have been used by Russia hacking groups for years, with ComRAT being deployed in attacks for more than a decade, having evolved from the old Agent.BTZ malware Both Turla and APT28 have consistently updated both tools to add evasion techniques and keep their malware undetected The purpose of this recent US government exposé is to share recent versions of these hacking tools with the general public so system administrators and other defenders can add detection rules and update protective measures As Slovak cyber-security firm ESET pointed out this week and FBI alerts also mark the first time that ComRAT and Zebrocy have been formally linked to the Russian government's cyber-espionage units Attribution for both ComRAT and Zebrocy has always been done in an informal manner in reports published by privately-owned security vendors but never in advisories published by government agencies The US government has not linked any of these recent samples to any recent security incidents In the past, ComRAT has been used to target ministries of foreign affairs and a national parliament (per ESET), while Zebrocy was used to target embassies and ministries of foreign affairs (also, per ESET) Victims of both malware have been identified in Eastern Europe and Central Asia Earlier this week, cyber-security vendor Accenture also published a report on recent Turla operations and its prevalence to use the ComRAT malware The joint US government advisory was published on Halloween US cyber-security agencies have recently made it a habit to expose malware operations on well-known holidays as a way to send greetings to foreign threat actors #ValentinesDayMemes @US_CYBERCOM pic.twitter.com/c8X7d6zBDr Thank you for your presence today at Comrat University and the leadership of the autonomy for the invitation I am grateful also for the warm welcome that the Gagauz people are famous for Gagauzia is an integral part of the cultural economic and political life of the Republic of Moldova I am glad to see many young people and students here Our country can become prosperous only if we improve the quality of education Our youth must be prepared to meet today's and tomorrow's challenges We need good specialists in all areas: pedagogy We need an education system that fosters patriotism It should educate young people in the spirit of freedom and respect for people it should contribute to the creation of a state in which each of its citizens is valued; and in which each person can fulfill his or her dream through his or her own work The Ministry of Education has launched a reform intended to improve education’s quality and relevance We expect universities to raise both the requirements for students and the quality of teaching But today I am in Gagauzia not only to talk about the education system I want to talk openly and in detail with you about the difficult situation in which our country We have always valued honesty and sincerity in dealing with each other This has always been the case in our history - we found a common language and achieved common goals It is obvious that today both the region and the country are going through difficult times The world in which we lived during thirty years after gaining independence has changed beyond recognition many refuse to believe in these changes and acknowledge what they mean for us It is no longer a world of cooperation and good neighbourly relations The peace we have known has been replaced by war and destruction I will be very frank with you - this war Russia is waging against Ukraine is affecting you and me in a very direct way We all - with horror - see that it is a war in which children For the past six months Ukrainians have been defending their homes Because to be free means to have the right to choose Ukrainians want to live in peace and tranquility in their own homes in their own country and decide their own fate without sparing one's own life isn't that worthy of respect I saw with my own eyes the suffering of the people of Ukraine It is impossible to convey the despair of a man who lost his family and friends An entire generation bears the imprint of a terrible war It is impossible to forget or to justify it I have not seen a single Ukrainian who has asked for such a liberation - destruction of homes and peaceful lives we cannot treat this as something that does not concern us have to do everything we can to maintain peace and stability for our people whether we will be wise enough to preserve peace Preservation of peace is the main task for all of us And we will do everything possible for this It is important not to allow attempts to sow chaos in Moldova We must not allow someone to instill suspicion and distrust towards each other Some in this country do not want to assume responsibility for their own theft The slogan of the vast majority of Moldovan citizens is peace and understanding Nothing today can be more precious for us than peace to do your utmost to preserve interethnic peace consolidation and tranquility in these difficult times when war and destruction are all around us We lived on our land for centuries and figured out by ourselves what to do We promised each other to build a strong state Today we strengthen our state by removing problems removing corruption and cartel interests from state institutions We are fighting to protect our national interests And our national interest today is the preservation of peace and stability in Moldova the protection of citizens and raising living standards mutual respect and consideration for each other's opinions has been and will continue to be a solid foundation for our common future We live in a free country and we are proud of it This is one of the main achievements of the country There is no discrimination in Moldova on ethnic people are not afraid to openly express their opinion a state power that is elected by the people and represents the people This is how it should be in the free world I know that today we are all concerned about rising prices I reaffirm that the leadership of Moldova will support you in these difficult times The government has allocated significant sums - billions of lei - to compensate for the heating costs of all citizens of the country - in Chisinau Prices have risen even more because of the war Our country is vulnerable from an energy point of view For three decades nothing has been done to diversify energy sources and the country's energy security the government will help citizens pay their bills social benefits and announced additional payments to retired citizens and state employees We will not leave a single citizen of Moldova one-on-one with the problems The country will be provided with energy resources and heating but these small resources will be distributed fairly to help people who need help in the first place we have to think about how to maintain peace and stability We haven't abandoned our plans of developing Moldova In Gagauzia many national projects and programs have been implemented as well as projects financed by the European Union and various countries Chisinau encouraged these investments in the autonomy The European Union is the biggest donor in Gagauzia agriculture and local development are just some of the areas where European Union invested We understand the concerns about tomorrow and we are doing our best to prepare as best we can for the new challenges The situation is difficult not only for Gagauzia The situation is also difficult in Chisinau Now many say that Chisinau hasn’t done enough I want to speak to you about the opinion of recognized international and world specialists They concluded that not a single autonomy in the European Union has such wide powers as Gagauz-Yeri in Moldova And there are many autonomous entities in the EU The constituent entities of the Russian Federation the Gagauz received these powers precisely in the independent Moldova This is the truth that needs to be spoken openly And this is a solid basis for moving forward the powers of the Gagauz-Yeri autonomy still have to be regulated and brought in line with the legislation There is a dialogue between central and local authorities on delimitation of competences that are spelled out in the legislation everyone would like this harmonisation work to progress much faster this technical work took much longer than in our case they sometimes do it to cover their own failures and often to steal budgetary funds perhaps the government does not always react in time But Chisinau has never intended to limit the autonomy A solid foundation respecting the cultural and national rights of the Gagauz was laid in 1994 and we have to take care and appreciate it This foundation cannot be called into question today there is not a single objective reason to doubt the functionality of the design laid down in 1994 and the technical specialists need to align those powers The central government is committed to this harmonization work One of the main objectives linked to the creation of the autonomy in 1994 was the preservation of the linguistic and national identity of the Gagauz as well as the revival of the Gagauz culture The University of Comrat has been functioning since 1991 teachers of the Gagauz language and literature The Comrat Pedagogical College tries to work in the native Gagauz language the Gagauz language is used to a lesser extent in schools and even in ordinary speech The Gagauz language is on the list of endangered languages and we cannot allow this We must work together to solve this problem Serious efforts are needed to preserve the Gagauz language and culture for present and future generations And today such an opportunity exists and there is a full commitment of the central authorities You cannot lose the unique Gagauz language Learning the Romanian language is also important One of the foundations of social cohesion is the inclusion of Gagauzia in the cultural I know that there is a demand for learning Romanian Irina Vlah set a worthy example by declaring and proving that she speaks Romanian It is necessary to provide all the inhabitants of the autonomy with the opportunity to learn the Romanian language in order to create more opportunities for everyone we are launching a national program for learning Romanian Perhaps multilingual education - teaching various subjects in several languages in kindergartens and schools in Gagauzia - can be a solution for both preserving the Gagauz language and learning the Romanian language.Dear friends I would like to stress once again the main point of my speech - it depends on each one of us today to preserve peace in Moldova to fight corruption together and to have a free country that respects every citizen New cooperation between legislators has helped ease tensions in Moldova The improvement in center-autonomy relations highlights the importance of settling disputes before they grow into open conflicts https://vimeo.com/229118255 the heart of the autonomous region of Moldova the sun illuminates the Orthodox Cathedral of St making its domes and walls shine in copper and yellow Although the spring puts Leichu in a good mood he also has another reason to be satisfied relations between Comrat and Chisinau show signs of improvement Gheorghii Leichu is a Member of the Gagauz People’s Assembly and Co-Chair of the Official Working Group He feels that relations between the centre and autonomy are now improving As Moldova gained its independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s the question of rights of the Gagauz minority rose to the surface the Government of Moldova established the autonomous region to safeguard these rights The autonomy is rooted in the law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia It proclaims the People’s Assembly as the representative of the population and the main guardian of their rights being able to pass normative acts and local laws the law provides little guidance on where the rights start and where they end During the almost quarter-century of autonomy this has led to many disagreements between Chisinau and Comrat Moldova lies at the crossroads between East and West As world and regional politics have entered a new phase of tension in recent years there has been new willingness from Chisinau to engage in dialogue with Comrat Elena Bacalu is a Member of Parliament of Moldova and Co-Chair of the Official Working Group we do our best to make things right in the autonomous region.” convened legislators from both sides to set up an informal working group to improve the functioning of the autonomy As a gesture of confidence and following increased attention from international partners to the issue Moldovan Parliament then initiated and established an official working group involving the Moldovan Parliament and the People’s Assembly the inter-parliamentary work has played a vital role in improving in Chisinau-Comrat relations The official working group is the first permanent group on autonomy issues at the parliamentary level that has become sustainable There’s increased trust between the group members and they are more able than before to find solutions to disagreements Opportunities for fruitful compromise have improved since both sides have learned to take the other’s perspective The increased capacity of the two parties to reach consensus has resulted in a number of concrete solutions the working group has endorsed the much-needed harmonization of national and local legislation and is currently working to develop a roadmap to carry through these changes And concrete measures have been taken to improve the implementation of autonomy’s rights and the livelihoods of local people This group has great potential to achieve good results” the Co-Chair of the Official Working Group Leichu has long experience in the public of life of the autonomous region he was elected to the People’s Assembly for the second time Leichu’s positive feelings are shared By Elena Bacalu Bacalu represents the ruling Democratic Party Bacalu considers the group’s work exceptional the legislators weren’t even able to communicate with each other “Now I realise that I have become more moderate myself I couldn’t imagine this happening,” Bacalu says She sees a real momentum to the improvement in relations we do our best to make things right in the autonomous region And I know that the leadership in Chisinau is also interested in solving this problem.” CMI’s Natalia Djandjgava (left) and Jale Sultanli at the first joint meeting of the Parliament of Moldova and Gagauzia People’s Assembly on 4 February 2016 in Chisinau Photo: Parliament of the Republic of Moldova The parliamentary dialogue in Moldova is an encouraging example of conflict prevention It establishes a mechanism to settle disputes before they can escalate into open conflict the working group became a platform where disagreements between Chisinau and Comrat were often sent The ability to take early action also has clear benefits for conflicts that are already heated There’s more space to tackle the underlying causes of tensions and to find common ground between the parties The complexity of today’s conflicts means that it sometimes takes very little to trigger a crisis This highlights the need to tackle a problem before it becomes major Considering the possible consequences of escalation effective conflict prevention clearly saves time and money compared to remedial measures New UN Secretary-General António Guterres has put conflict prevention high on his agenda the world has spent far more time and resources on responding to crises rather than preventing them Because conflict prevention can raise concerns about national sovereignty impartial private diplomacy actors like CMI are well positioned to do the work both sides feel that CMI’s involvement and the support from Sweden to the process have made an important contribution CMI has been the missing piece of the puzzle “Many of the disagreements over legislation have been political in nature CMI has brought mediation expertise to the table which has increased our capacity to look at things constructively,” he says CMI has become a trusted partner both in Chisinau and Comrat CMI supports the official working group by informally convening its members brokering agreements on discussed issues and channelling support from other government institutions “We’ve never had a mediator between us before someone neutral who’s interested only in reaching solutions and achieving results Before it was only the two sides meeting,” says Leichu the cooperative effort is strongly in the hands of both sides The process couldn’t have gone this far without the strong commitment from Chisinau This strong local ownership of the process makes it far more likely to succeed “All parliamentary political parties are involved in this process The engagement from both sides really highlights the importance of this dialogue,” Speaker Candu says The high-profile parliamentary dialogue has created a more positive political environment and resulted in a number of concrete measures that would improve the quality of life in Gagauzia the Government of Moldova adopted a four-year action plan for the socio-economic development of the autonomous region As the South is one of the poorest regions in Moldova farmers on horse-drawn wagons are a familiar sight in the countryside rattle along the streets of Comrat with shiny SUVs Both Chisinau and Comrat consider the establishment of the Agency for Regional Development to be the main achievement of the action plan Among the things that the Agency’s funds enable are road building Infrastructure projects would bring jobs and some much-needed vigour to the local economy “Our voices have finally been heard,” Leichu says Both sides welcome the reinforcement of learning of the state language There would be three different language groups in kindergartens: Romanian Local authorities would be introduced with language courses in Romanian Moldovan and Gagauz flags fly at the border of the autonomous region of Gagauzia Even though the cooperation is still in its early days legislators in Chisinau and Comrat are optimistic about the future The members of the working group have realised that the dialogue is a long-term process that needs to go on Both Bacalu and Leichu hope that there will eventually be a permanent platform for resolving disputes between Chisinau and Comrat This would also help to deal with the more difficult questions that might surface For parliamentarians involved in the process this work is an encouraging example that finding solutions and change through dialogue is possible The sunny spring weather also makes itself felt in Chisinau’s central park Elena Bacalu smiles at a little girl who passes her on a tricycle “I think we’re moving in the right direction We’re doing this for the best of the Gagauz people.” EUROPA PENTRU TINE!Află despre beneficiile și oportunitățile oferite Republicii Moldova de Uniunea Europeană A trip to the Autonomous Territorial Unit Gagauzia by Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita has started with a visit to Fujikura Automotive MLD Company from the sub-zone Vulcanesti Free Economic Zone (FEZ Vulcanesti) specialized in the production of equipment for the fields of telecommunications The Japanese investor started its work in Comrat in 2017 due to the simplified procedures of Ukrainian refugees’ employment instructed by the Commission for Emergency Situations (CSE) six refugees from Ukraine were employed at the company Natalia Gavrilita also said that the presence of such investors was important for the national economy the government would remain further focused on the creation of an as friendly as possible investment climate even in the context of the regional economic crisis „We appreciate much the productivity you prove and the capacity to overcome some aspects triggered by the crisis in the region You should know that the cabinet is with you; you felt this also when we ruled to compensate a part of the costs for the natural gas and thermal energy we are oriented to the identification of new sales markets; we want to increase the investments in Moldova in order to create the best premises for the development of foreign and local investors,’’ the PM said referred to the company’s stages of development as well as the impact of the reforms initiated by the government Fujikura has been present on Moldova’s market since 2016 with the opening of the company at Expo-Business-Chisinau free Economic Zone All materials featured on this site are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) Technical-technological administration: Information Technology and Cyber Security Service. The imperial flag of the Russian Federation used more and more in recent years by nationalist organizations in Russia as well as in the occupied regions of Ukraine The decision was made by the Chisinau Court at the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office The judges granted the authorities' request and found the "extremist nature of the flag with three horizontal lines of white-yellow-black color," writes NewsMaker The decision can be appealed within 30 days The flag with the three horizontal lines of black-yellow-white color was used as the national flag of the Russian Empire in the years 1858-1896 it is promoted by the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin as a symbol of the "New Russia." In 2014, the flag was raised in Donetsk and Luhansk by the Russian occupation army, and some military units still have it in use. According to anticoruptie.md, in Comrat such flags are also used in pro-Russian demonstrations This is not the only symbol banned in Moldova a few months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine the Parliament of Chisinau voted to ban the St used as distinctive signs of the Russian army in its war of aggression in the neighboring country and individuals who use them risk hefty fines and community service 3 April - Courts' institutional capacities will be strengthened and all citizens' access to quality justice will be increased The government has approved amendments to the law on reorganisation of courts The headquarters of the following courts will be changed: Balti some seats will be reassigned to other courts It also sees the reorganisation of the courts of appeal and their reconfiguration by renaming them into: Central Court of Appeal Northern Court of Appeal and Southern Court of Appeal the latter will have two seats - the central one in Cahul and the secondary one in Comrat several criteria were taken into account as a priority: the number of inhabitants in the region as well as the territorial infrastructure of the localities in the districts of the courts or courts of appeal 7 Wins / 4 Draws / 11 Losses in the Last 22 fixtures *Olimp Comrat's stats from Division A 2024/25 Prediction Risk - UNLOCK This season in Division A, Olimp Comrat's form is Poor overall with 7 wins, 4 draws, and 11 losses. This performance currently places Olimp Comrat at 0 out of 12 teams in the Division A Table Olimp Comrat's home form is poor with the following results : 0 wins Olimp Comrat has scored a total of 41 goals this season in Division A More Over / Under / BTTS / Goals data are under the Goals tab More Olimp Comrat corner stats are available under the Corners tab * Average Goals Scored Per Match for Olimp Comrat in Division A 2024/25 • Olimp Comrat scores a goal every 0 minutes in Division A • Olimp Comrat scores an average of 0 goals every game * Average Goals Conceded Per Match for Olimp Comrat in Division A 2024/25 • Olimp Comrat has conceded a total of 64 goals this season in Division A • Olimp Comrat concedes a goal every 0 min • Olimp Comrat concedes an average of 0 goals every game Olimp Comrat has a ratio of 91% Over 2.5 goals during the Division A 2024/2025 (20 / 22 fixtures) Over / Under Goals are calculated from total match goals for fixtures that Olimp Comrat has participated in Over / Under 1H/2H Goals are calculated from both team's goals in that half UNLOCKCorners / Match * Average Corner Kicks per match between Olimp Comrat and their opponents in a single match Match corners is the total corners between Olimp Comrat and their opponent in the match Corners Earned = Olimp Comrat's corner kicks UNLOCKCards / Match * Average Total Match Cards per match between Olimp Comrat and their opponents in a single match Match cards is the total cards between Olimp Comrat and their opponent in the match * Not all matches have goal timings recorded for Olimp Comrat Cards and Corners in these tables are total between both teams * Not all matches have goal/corner/card timings recorded for Olimp Comrat * Average Shots Per Match for Olimp Comrat in Division A 2024/25 Division A team Olimp Comrat took a total of 30 shots during the 2024/2025 season averaging 10 shots per match with 3.67 of them on target and 6.33 being off target xG For - Olimp Comrat takes an average of 10 shots per match This resulted in 1.86 goals scored per match xG Against - Olimp Comrat concedes an average of 1.26 xGA every match Most frequent total goals for Olimp Comrat *FC Olimp Comrat player data are not yet recorded Average AttendanceNot recorded yet or may be affected by COVID-19 WebsiteFC Olimp Comrat Official website Follow FootyStats on the following channels to make sure you never miss a stat * Please be aware that unauthorized individuals may be falsely claiming affiliation with FootyStats on Social Media These individuals are not associated with our company in any capacity Please verify official representatives through our website or official communication channels is not responsible for any interactions or transactions with unauthorized persons misrepresenting our organization © FootyStats - Built with Love for The Beautiful Game