Moldova's parliament has approved a new government headed by Prime Minister Dorin Recean, Reuters reported.

Recean, 48, was nominated Friday by Moldovan President Maia Sandu . Recean replaces Natalia Gavrilitsa, whose government resigned after a difficult 18 months in power marked by economic turmoil and allegations of Russian interference.

Recean, a former interior minister and presidential aide, won the approval of 62 lawmakers in the 101-member parliament after outlining his political plans in a program called A Prosperous, Secure, European Moldova.

Recean said before the parliamentary vote that his government would include only four ministers that were absent from the old one - finance, infrastructure, justice and energy.

He is an experienced politician who served as secretary of the Supreme Security Council, an advisory body on military and national security, and was interior minister from 2012 to 2015.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic of 2.5 million people bordering Ukraine and EU member Romania, is already a candidate for EU membership, but the process usually takes several years.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has repeatedly accused Russia of trying to destabilize Moldova, and on Monday she alleged a plot to overthrow the country's leadership, stop it from joining the EU and use it in a war against Ukraine.