Moldova president says church must work for European integration

FILE PHOTO: Moldova's President Maia Sandu addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova's president waded carefully on Monday into a row pitting the ex-Soviet state's two rival Orthodox churches against each other over Russian influence, saying churches should facilitate the country's main aim of European integration.

Moldova, wedged between Ukraine and Romania, has for more than 150 years been a pawn in struggles between Moscow and Bucharest as part of either the Russian empire or Greater Romania. And that is the crux of the church row.