Moldovan parties agree to form government after months of deadlock

FILE PHOTO: Moldova's Action and Solidarity Party presidential candidate Maia Sandu speaks to the media after voting in a presidential election in Chisinau, Moldova, November 13, 2016. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

CHISINAU/KIEV (Reuters) - Moldovan parties on Saturday agreed to form a government and appoint Maia Sandu, a former education minister and World Bank adviser, as prime minister with a mandate to curb the power of oligarchs in one of Europe's poorest countries.

Sandu's pro-European Union ACUM bloc formed a working coalition with the Russian-backed Socialist party, breaking months of deadlock after a parliamentary election in February produced a hung parliament.