EU aspirant Moldova prepares to host major international summit

By JUSTIN SPIKE, RAF CASERT and JIM HEINTZ
Associated Press

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Final preparations for a major summit of European leaders are being made in Moldova, a sign of the Eastern European country’s ambitions to draw closer to the West. The nation of 2.6 million is putting its best foot forward for the second meeting of the European Political Community on Thursday. The gathering will bring together around 50 leaders from 47 countries in what organizers are calling the largest international event in the country’s history. Moldova is seeking to break with its Russian-dominated past amid the war in neighboring Ukraine, and hopes to join the European Union. The EU says holding the summit in Moldova is a signal to Moscow that it will stand by the region.