Chisinau

President Igor Dodon announced on Monday evening that Moldova will host in September the annual meeting of the World Congress of Families, a US-based umbrella organisation of international groups supporting conservative social values.

"We are bringing together people around the world to discuss the beauty of the family," Dodon said.

Russia has promised further financial aid to Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region, which has long depended on the Kremlin for survival.

During a visit of Transnistria leader Vadim Krasnoselky to Moscow on Saturday, Russian Vice-Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin promised further implementation of "humanitarian and cultural" projects that Russia says it is conducting in the region.

The third suspension of Moldova's President, Igor Dodon, by the Constitutional Court has created new friction between Dodon and his Socialist Party, the most popular party in the country and second largest force in the parliament.

Dodon's suspension came after he created an institutional blockage by twice refusing to appoint new ministers in the pro-EU government.

Moldova's National Bank on Thursday said Russian investors no longer hold first place among foreign investors in the country, in terms of direct investment in domestic economic stock.

Citing new data, it said that The Netherlands and Spain took first and second place in the ranking of foreign investors. Third place went to France, followed by Cyprus and Romania.

Russia's authorities have failed in their attempt to get Interpol to put the leader of the pro-Western ruling party in Moldova, Democrat Party leader Vlad Plahotniuc, on the international wanted list, the news portal deschide.md said on Thursday after receiving an official answer from the Ministry of Interior.

The volume of trade between Turkey and Moldova rose by nine times in the last 15 years, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Hakan Cavuşoğlu said on Dec. 19 in the Moldovan capital Chisinau.

Moldova withdraw its ambassador Andrei Neguta from Moscow for an "undetermined period" on Monday afternoon. as relations between Russia and the former Soviet republic continue to plummet.

The foreign ministry stated that the measure was taken because Russian officials had harassed and intimidated officials and politicians from Moldova, without citing precise examples.

The US ambassador to Chisinau, James Pettit, said on Sunday that Russian propaganda and internal political control over broadcasters are endangering freedom of the media in Moldova.

Moldova's General Prosecutor's Office told news website deschide.md on Monday evening that German Gorbuntsov is being investigated in at least three criminal cases by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

After returning to Moldova on November 30 following a six-year absence, Gorbutsov was first questioned by prosecutors about an attempt to assassinate him in London in March 2012.

Moldovan authorities on Tuesday prevented Marina Safronova, producer for Russia's Vserossiyskaya Gosudarstvennaya Televizionnaya I Radioveshchatelnaya Kompaniya, VGTRK, which is affiliated to state-owned Russia-24 TV - and Zvezda TV channel reporter Alexei Samolyotov - from entering the country.