Chisinau, Moldova — Moldovans gave the country's pro-Western governing party a clear parliamentary majority in a weekend election, defeating pro-Russian groups in a vote widely viewed as a stark choice between East and West.

European leaders on Monday hailed Moldovans for re-affirming their commitment to a Western path and future membership in the European Union in the face of alleged Russian interference. The county is small in size and population but with outsized geopolitical importance.

“You made your choice clear: Europe. Democracy. Freedom,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X. "No attempt to sow fear or division could break your resolve.”

Landlocked between war-torn Ukraine and EU and NATO member Romania, Moldova was a Soviet republic until it

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