OREANDA-NEWS  At a meeting on Thursday, the Moldovan parliament approved in the first reading amendments to the law on citizenship, which will prevent its extradition to certain groups of persons, the press service of the legislative body reported.

"The parliament voted in the first reading for the draft law on amendments to the law on Moldovan citizenship. The legislation includes stricter rules aimed at eliminating vulnerabilities and risks to state security and public order," reads a statement posted on the parliament's website.

The authors of the bill noted that over the past two years, there has been an increase in the number of applicants for Moldovan citizenship, especially those from Ukraine and Russia.

The amendments suggest that persons who are serving or must serve a criminal sentence, have an outstanding criminal record or are under criminal prosecution during the consideration of the application will not be able to obtain Moldovan citizenship. In addition, a refusal to obtain citizenship will be issued to persons who have submitted documents with false data. Applications for citizenship will be coordinated with the Information and Security Service.