Moldova reopens airspace after 'security' closure

Moldova on Tuesday closed its airspace for over two hours citing safety and security reasons, authorities said, amid tensions between the former Soviet republic and Russia.

The development comes a day after Moldova's president Maia Sandu accused Russia of plotting to violently overthrow the country's pro-European leadership with the help of saboteurs disguised as anti-government protesters.

"Moldova's airspace was temporarily closed at 11:24 am (0924 GMT), 14 February, in order to assure the safety and security of civil aviation," Moldova's Civil Aviation Authority said in a press release.

"At 14:47 pm (1247 GMT) the airspace was re-opened," it added, without giving further details.

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The country's national airline had also said earlier Tuesday that Moldova's airspace was closed.

A Moldovan newspaper reported that "a foreign drone" was "flying without permission".

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky last week told a European Union summit that Kyiv had "intercepted the plan for the destruction of Moldova by Russian intelligence".

Russia's foreign ministry on Tuesday denied Moldova's accusations as "completely unfounded and unsubstantiated".

Moldova, a country of 2.6 million people wedged between Romania and Ukraine, received EU candidate status in the summer of 2022, but over the past year has been faced with numerous anti-government protests.

Over the past year, the war in neighbouring Ukraine has repeatedly caused multiple security concerns in the pro-European country as debris from Russian missiles landed on Moldovan territory after traversing its skies.

Moldova also suffered energy blackouts after Ukraine stopped exporting electricity because of Russian airstrikes on critical infrastructure.