Moldova's president, prime minister, and members of the senior ruling party gathered for an urgent weekend meeting after weeks of anti-government protests, pressure from Moscow, and social media hacks that targeted top officials.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita declined to disclose details of the talks on the evening of November 13 at the presidential offices in Chisinau except to bat away media speculation that Gavrilita or her pro-EU government might be stepping down.
On November 14, Gavrilita's center-right Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) said the talks were aimed at finding ways to "ensure tranquility and peace." The party said in a statement that it would announce the results of the meeting "as soon as possible," but no details have emerged.
The statement cited "energy blackmail" by Russia and unspecified "attempts by a group of thieves…to create chaos in the country." It did not elaborate.
Moldova, a former Soviet republic of around 3 million people wedged between Ukraine and Romania, is hugely reliant on Russian gas and energy.
Last week, the Telegram social media accounts of Sandu and other top Moldovan dignitaries were hacked, resulting in the posting of purportedly fake messages. Among other things, the posted messages alleged wrongdoing by Justice Minister Sergiu Litvinenko in connection with a tender to fill an anti-corruption prosecutorial post. Litvinenko has denied doing anything wrong.
Thousands of protesters have filled Chisinau's streets in recent weeks to rail against Gavrilita's government amid a mounting winter energy crisis and spiking inflation as Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine grinds on.
The protests have been organized in part by the party of fugitive banker Ilan Shor, who was convicted in absentia in connection with what's been dubbed the "theft of the century" in Moldova in 2014.
The U.S. Treasury last month announced sanctions against former Moldovan politicians, including Shor and his wife as well as former legislator and Democratic Party (PDM) head Vladimir Plahotniuc, and a handful of Russian nationals.
It cited corruption and Russia's alleged use of "operatives" abroad "to prevent further erosion of its influence" amid major setbacks in its war on Ukraine, including influence operations related to Moldovan elections.
Moldova still has around 1,500 Russian troops at a former Soviet depot in its breakaway region of Transdniester, despite Sandu's repeated calls for Moscow to withdraw the soldiers.
Chisinau has accelerated its bid to join the European Union since Russian troops rolled into Ukraine in late February, and fears that Moscow could have designs on Moldovan territory.
"The ruling party is trying to find solutions to all these problems and come up with some reactions, probably, to prevent certain problems that could lead to the degradation of the political and economic situation," Veaceslav Berbeca, a researcher for the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives Viitorul in Chisinau, told RFE/RL's Moldovan Service.
Moscow and Chisinau exchanged diplomatic expulsions earlier this month after a Russian missile reportedly shot down by Ukrainian defenses fell in northern Moldova. No one was injured in the incident, which smashed windows in the village of Naslavcea, and border crossings were temporarily closed.
PAS lawmaker Oazu Nantoi acknowledged that the November 13 meeting was "unofficial" and "unplanned" but said no "historic decisions" were taken.
He said the topics included the energy crisis, the protests, and information leaks since the Telegram hacks.
"My impression is that this government is caught in a kind of inertia," Valeriu Pasha, a political analyst from the WatchDog.MD Community, said.