Moldova’s center-left political party, The Democratic Party of Moldova, has hired Washington, D.C.-based political giant Podesta Group for public affairs services.

PDMAccording to Foreign Agents Registration Act documents filed in July, Podesta has been hired to counsel the PDM on U.S. politics and policies in Congress and the executive branch, and will help develop Moldovan-U.S. relations by establishing meetings with members of Congress and executive branch officials as well as communicating information about the PDM and its issues of concern to interested parties in the public sector.

Moldova, which declared its independence in 1991 after the Soviet Union’s dissolution, is one of the poorest countries in Europe, and remains politically divided between pro-Russia and pro-European Union camps. The Eastern European nation, which has made attempts in recent years to join the EU, inked an Association Agreement with the bloc in the fall of 2014.

Pro-EU PDM, which is financially backed by politician Vladimir Plahotniuc, made a failed attempt to form a new majority government coalition with other pro-European Moldovan political parties, and in 2015, another pro-EU majority government was sworn into power. The country faces a presidential election in October.

The PDM's agreement with Podesta became effective June 22. The PDM will pay Podesta $600,000 for the work, as well as expenses, made in quarterly installments of $150,000.