German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was visiting Moldova on Friday against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
He was received with military honours by his Moldovan counterpart Anatolie Nosatîi in the capital Chișinău on Friday. Afterwards, Pistorius was scheduled to visit a barracks which forms part of German development projects to make the country more resilient in the face of Moscow's attempts at destabilization.
Pistorius was also to be shown several armoured transport vehicles paid for by Germany. The German government has also provided the country with medical equipment.
Moldova's pro-European President Maia Sandu wants to push ahead with the country's integration into the European Union. The country has had EU accession candidate status for around two years.
At the same time, however, Russia continues to have great influence in the economically poor former Soviet republic, which has around 2.5 million inhabitants. Russian soldiers have been stationed in the breakaway region of Transnistria since the 1990s.
There are renewed fears that Moscow could use unrest in the region as a pretext for escalation in the wake of its war against Ukraine.
