“Relations with Russia are at the lowest level in the modern history of the Republic of Moldova,” said Mihail Popsoi in an interview with Moldovan television, quoted by the Spanish agency EFE.
Popsoi attributed the bad situation in relations to the “harsh reality in the region” after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting a war with no end in sight.
“While Ukrainians are experiencing unspeakable horrors every day, we see no room for improving our relations with Russia,” he said.
Popsoi recalled that the security strategy document of Moldova, a country that aspires to join the European Union (EU), identifies Russia as the biggest threat to national security.
“The document says in black and white that Russia is the main threat to Moldova’s national security,” he said.
According to the document approved in December 2023, Moscow is a threat due to the war in Ukraine, the presence of Russian troops in the Moldovan separatist region of Transnistria and the hybrid attacks on Chisinau.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu, a pro-European, defends the holding of a referendum in the former Soviet republic on EU membership, which is opposed by pro-Russian parties.
According to preliminary data, this plebiscite could take place in the autumn of this year, coinciding with the country’s presidential elections, in which Sandu will seek re-election.
With around 2.5 million inhabitants, Moldova is located between Romania and Ukraine.
The Transnistrian region gained prominence after the start of the war in Ukraine due to its ties with Russia and its important geostrategic position.
Kiev even denounced alleged Russian incursions into western Ukraine from the separatist region.
Russia maintains a contingent of 1,500 soldiers in Transnistria, whose pro-Moscow separatists have controlled the territory since Moldova’s civil war in 1992.
PNG // SCA
Tags: Moldova admits experiencing worst moment relations Russia
