The Kremlin said on Monday it was worried about the state of affairs in Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, where it said external forces were stirring up the situation.

Moscow last week told the West that it would view any actions that threatened Russian peacekeepers in Transdniestria as an attack on Russia itself, a warning that came amid increased concerns in Moldova, a small ex-Soviet republic located between Romania and Ukraine, of a possible Russian threat.

Moldova's pro-European president, Maia Sandu, this month accused Moscow of plotting a coup, something Russia denied. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kevin Liffey)