WATCH: State Department holds briefing as Moldova swears in new government

State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel held a news briefing on Thursday as Moldova swore in its new pro-Western government.

Watch Patel’s remarks in the player above.

We look forward to working with the prime minister and his cabinet as they continue to pursue political and economic and anti-corruption reforms,” Patel said.

Moldova’s new government led by pro-Western economist Dorin Recean was sworn in Thursday after winning Parliament’s approval, as the small former Soviet republic signaled a shift to security concerns amid Russia’s war in neighboring Ukraine.

Recean, a 48-year-old economist who served for a year as President Maia Sandu’s defense and security adviser, was tapped by her last week as prime minister-designate after Natalia Gavrilita suddenly quit the position.

Sandu told the new government as she swore it in later Thursday that it has to lead Moldova through “a very difficult period, marked by multiple crises,” and highlighted European Union membership as the only way the country can “preserve and strengthen” its democracy.

“We appreciate President Sandu’s as Moldova builds its democratic, European future,” Patel said.

“The task of the new government is to provide security to the citizens and put the Republic of Moldova on a path of reconstruction and development, despite the crises,” she said. “We need decisive steps to strengthen the security of the country. The war in Ukraine continues, and this war carries risks for us.”

As well as focusing on European integration, Recean said, Moldova’s security sector “must be strengthened, and the activity of those who want to bring war here must be drastically countered.”

“Moldova has vulnerabilities in the context of the war in Ukraine,” said Recean, who also served as interior minister between 2012 and 2015, “and these vulnerabilities must be treated with the utmost care.”

On Monday, Sandu held a news briefing in which she outlined an alleged plot by Moscow to overthrow her country’s government using what she described as external saboteurs, to put the nation “at the disposal of Russia,” and to derail its aspirations to one day join the EU.

“The U.S. firmly supports Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Patel said.

Sandu said that the purported Russian plot envisioned attacks on government buildings, hostage-takings and other violent actions by groups of saboteurs. Russia strongly denied those claims a day later as “absolutely unfounded and unsubstantiated.”

“Threats to our country remain high. Destabilization attempts are a reality and for our institutions, they represent a real challenge,” Sandu said Thursday.