Western partners reiterate their firm support for the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet country with a majority Romanian-speaking population).
Western diplomats and geopolitical experts agree that the Republic of Moldova is the most vulnerable among the neighbors of Ukraine which was invaded by Russian troops. It is considered, in the specialized rankings, as one of the poorest states on the continent. It does not belong to any military alliance, because an outdated Constitution, adopted three decades ago, stipulates complete neutrality. The pro-Russian break-away region of Transnistria or Trans-Dniester (east) has been, de facto, out of the control of the central authorities since 1992. The capital, Chişinău, is teeming with Moscow’s agents who have reached as far as the Parliament. All in all, the state could not survive without the assistance of Western partners. On Tuesday, the fourth edition of the Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova took place in Chişinău. It was created last year at the initiative of neighboring Romania, France and Germany, to help overcome the crises and effects generated by the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
About 50 delegates, foreign ministers from the European Union countries and representatives of international financial institutions and organizations participated. The host, the pro-Western president Maia Sandu, recalled that the Republic of Moldova managed to overcome a difficult winter, to help the numerous Ukrainian refugees and its own population, vulnerable to energy bills, and to strengthen its institutions, against the background of hybrid aggressions from Russia. She compared the support that external partners have offered and will continue to offer to Chişinău with a ‘collective enterprise or community’, an old custom in the Romanian tradition in which neighbors gather to help each other. „With the help of friends, the Republic of Moldova is better prepared for this winter, and Russia’s energy blackmail has failed” Moldova’s president pointed out, as quoted by Radio Romania correspondents in Chişinău. She admits that, although the Republic of Moldova has become stronger in the fight against disinformation and in the fight with Russia’s hybrid war, the threats have not yet been overcome, and Moscow will try to influence next month’s local elections by using dirty money.
Attending the meeting, the French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, underlined the importance of European support for the Republic of Moldova, which benefits both the population and the economy in the long term. Infrastructure, connectivity and structural reforms are the key to getting closer to the European Union, Catherine Colonna pointed out. And her German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, said that the support platform for the Republic of Moldova is a successful initiative, which managed to mobilize external funds in just a few weeks and to help citizens overcome both the energy crisis and the crisis caused by the waves of Ukrainian refugees.
(Bogdan Matei, Radio Romania International)
