Moldova's pro-Western President Maia Sandu said on Wednesday that she had signed a law replacing the reference of the country's official language from Moldovian to Romanian.

The change will come into force in all official documents, including the constitution.

This comes after the Moldovan Parliament voted by a majority on Thursday to pass the bill on changing the reference to the national language. 

⚡️The Parliament of Moldova renamed the state language to "Romanian".

The relevant bill was voted for without discussion. Voting lasted less than 2 minutes.

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"Today I signed a law that confirms a historic and undeniable truth: the Romanian language is Moldova's state language," Sandu wrote on social media, noting that the decision to agree on this amendment could contribute to better consolidating the nation. 

"Those who have been telling us for decades that we, the citizens of Moldova, speak the 'Moldovan' language rather than Romanian have pursued only one goal, which is to divide us. It is because once you have divided the nation, it is easier to subdue and control it," the president stated.  

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The matter comes down to a political rivalry opposing pro-EU and pro-Russian groups. During the Soviet era, the designation "Moldovan" was the sole officially recognized reference for the language. Therefore, "Moldovan" has political connotations insofar as those who oppose the change are aligned with Russia, whereas the use of the referent "Romanian," on the other hand, is favored by those who support the country's integration into the EU and NATO. 

In 2003, the parliament passed a law ruling that Moldovan and Romanian are glottonyms for the same language.  

In 2013, the Constitutional Court of Moldova adopted a law defining Romanian as the country's state language, in accordance with the 1991 Moldovan Declaration of Independence. On the same note, the country's constitution employs the word "Moldovan" to refer to the country's official language.

Since late February, Moldovans have been protesting by the thousands against high inflation and fuel costs while demanding that Sandu resigns due to her monopolizing power in the country.

A TASS correspondent reported on March 13 that violent clashes between the police and protestors erupted in central Chisinau during which demonstrators were seen chanting against the increased authoritarian measures of the Moldovan government: "Away with dictatorship," "Away with Maaia Sandu".

Fifty-four protestors, including 21 minors, were detained for demonstrating “suspicious behavior” and holding “prohibited objects” [a penknife and a pepper-spray pellet were confiscated], according to Police reports.

Read more: Moldova not planning to discuss possible NATO accession