President of Moldova Igor Dodon told the Russian press that he will block the initiative to amend the Constitution and substitute the phrase “Moldovan language” with “Romanian language” there, IPN reports.

“The procedure could be launched. The Socialists and the President will definitely not support it. I will block the initiative to modify the name of the official language,” stated Igor Dodon.

He explained that according to the procedure, the Constitutional Court has six months to pronounce on the issue. “I hope that 67 votes will not be garnered in Parliament. Even if this law is adopted, I will not promulgate it. Our official language is called Moldovan. It was so and will be so,” added President Dodon.

On October 12, the Liberal-Democratic parliamentary group announced that it secured the support of MPs needed for examining the bill to amend article 13 of the Constitution. Before presenting it officially, the Lib-Dems will submit the bill to the Constitutional Court for appraisal. The bill allows for the substitution of the phrase “Moldovan language” with “Romanian language”. The bill was signed by the Liberal-Democratic and Liberal MPs, the members of the European People’s Party group and the unaffiliated MPs.