Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage shows the crash involving Moldovan President Igor Dodon

Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been injured in a traffic accident north-west of the capital Chisinau.

A lorry overtook a vehicle in wet weather near the town of Straseni and crashed into the presidential convoy.

One of the cars in the convoy overturned. President Dodon was taken to hospital but suffered only scratches and bruises, officials say.

The 43-year-old, an ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin, has led the former Soviet Republic since December 2016.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Dodon is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin

Pictures posted on social media after Sunday's accident show the wreckage of a car by the side of the road.

The accident comes just hours after Gennady Gagulia, the prime minister of Abkhazia, a Russian-backed republic that broke away from Georgia in the 1990s, died in a car crash.</s>Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been hospitalized after a serious road accident that saw his vehicle overturned, according to local media.

RIA news agency reported that Dodon was not hurt in the crash, quoting one of his aides.

Two vehicles in Dodon's convoy collided with a truck on the Straseni - Calarasi highway located northwest of capital Chisinau.

Local reports showed two overturned cars on the side of the highway, and a truck that was exposed to a head-on collision.

43-year-old Dodon took office in December 2016. He is regarded as a pro-Kremlin figure in the former Soviet republic, which also seeks closer ties with the EU with a sizable portion of the population seeking reunification with Romania.

The accident came a day after Gennady Gaguliya, the prime minister of the breakaway Georgian province of Abkhazia, died in a car crash as his motorcade returned from the airport following a visit to Syria.

Abkhazia, which unilaterally declared independence in 1993, was recognized by Russia in 2008.</s>Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been injured in traffic accident north-west of the capital Chisinau.Local media say the crash happened when an...Read more via BBC – https://ift.tt/2wWXUYZ Get more World News</s>Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been injured in a traffic accident north-west of the capital Chisinau.

A lorry overtook a vehicle in wet weather near the town of Straseni and crashed into the presidential convoy.

One of the cars in the convoy overturned. President Dodon was taken to hospital but suffered only scratches and bruises, officials say.

The 43-year-old, an ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, has led the former Soviet Republic since December 2016.

Pictures posted on social media after Sunday’s accident show the wreckage of a car by the side of the road.

The accident comes just hours after Gennady Gagulia, the prime minister of Abkhazia, a Russian-backed republic that broke away from Georgia in the 1990s, died in a car crash.</s>Moldovan President Igor Dodon was rushed to hospital after his motorcade was involved in a car accident near the city of Straseni, a police spokesperson has confirmed., local media reported., sources told local news agency Unimedia. Video footage of the crash site shows two black cars in a ditch near the road, one of which is overturned. A white truck with a damaged cabin can be also seen on the road."President Igor Dodon feels fine. He didn't require medical treatment," Dodon's adviser Maxim Lebedinschi wrote on Facebook. He added that another vehicle crashed into the motorcade while violating traffic rules.While the president was unharmed, his mother was injured in the crash, a member of Dodon's security team told TASS news agency.Two presidential security guards were also rushed to hospital. "The presidential motorcade was abiding by the traffic rules. Then a truck, coming from the opposite direction, hit two cars of the SPPS [State Protection and Guard Service]," the SPPS head Anatol Gorea told Publika.md.Igor Dodon, 43, assumed the presidency in 2016, having previously served as deputy prime minister and minister of economy.</s>The President of Moldova, Igor Dodon, was hospitalized with slight injuries after his car turned over yesterday, the Eastern European country’s security services said. The accident occured on a wet road some 50 km to the south of capital Chisinau, according to a statement from the security services. The driver of another car was also injured. Dodon was scratched and bruised, the statement said. Pro-Moscow Dodon won the presidency in 2016 after beating a pro-European rival.</s>The video shows the presidential motorcade moving along the road with the cars in the opposite lane being pressed against the roadside, as it is likely that a police car was driving in front of Dodon's vehicle. Suddenly, however, a truck left its lane, taking up almost the entire carriageway.

The driver of the presidential Mercedes attempted to escape the collision but failed, resulting in the car flying into a ditch and turning over. The truck then rammed the police jeep, from which the video was being filmed.

According to the latest reports, no-one from the presidential family was injured.</s>While Moldova's authorities have given only vague information about Sunday's car accident involving President Igor Dodon, some of his fellow Socialists insist someone was trying to kill him.After Moldova's President, Igor Dodon, was involved in a car accident on Sunday,Socialist deputy Vlad Batrincea wrote on Facebook.He later added a list of reasons why some people might want to hurt Dodon, starting with Dodon's verbally stated intention to stand as a Socialist candidate in future parliamentary elections.The President is seen as "a danger to the [pro-EU] government and right-wing parties, and to their Euro-Atlantic curators", Batrincea maintained.He argued thatSocialists routinely accuse Romania and the US of trying to force Moldova into their camp and away from Moscow.The defeated Socialist candidate for the mayoral race for Chisinau in June,, implying that the two incidents were somehow related."It is strange that. We are not exactly conspiracy theories adepts, but we understand we need to be more careful and cautious from now on," said Ceban.President Dodon himself has revealed few details about the accident beyond a brief message that he is OK."Everything is in order, without serious trauma, neither to me nor to family members," Dodon said.But Ceban insisted that the accident was not minor."The President avoided disclosing details of the consequences of the accident because he did not want to focus on his condition. But," Ceban said.The presidential car was hit on Sunday morning by a truck, which skidded on a wet road. Police opened an investigation into the incident,</s>CHISINAU: Moldovan President Igor Dodon was involved in a car crash on Sunday but was not seriously hurt, his press office said.

"There was a car accident, thanks to God everyone is safe and sound," said spokeswoman Carmina Lupei.

Dodon's condition is satisfactory, Anatilie Golea, head of the Moldovan state security service, said.

He added that Dodon suffered only scratches and bruises.

Russian news agencies had reported earlier that Dodon had been taken to hospital after his car collided with a truck, citing Moldovan TV channel Publika.</s>Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been taken to hospital after a serious traffic accident.

Two vehicles in the presidential convoy were involved in a crash with a lorry, near the town of Straseni, north-west of the capital Chisinau.

The president later told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency that "all is OK". But reports say his mother suffered serious injuries.

Mr Dodon, 43, has led the former Soviet Republic since December 2016.

Some reports suggest Sunday's accident happened when an oncoming lorry overtook a vehicle and crashed into the convoy.

Pictures on social media show an overturned car by the side of the road.
Moldovan President Igor Dodon is involved in a highway accident when his official motorcade is struck by a truck coming from the opposite direction. Several passengers, including the president and members of his family, suffer moderate injuries and are hospitalized. Reports indicate that the Moldovan head of state is in good health.