French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged their support for Moldova joining the European Union during a visit to the counattempt on Aug. 27.
The three European leaders met with Moldovan President Maia Sandu in the capital, Chisinau, on the day the former Soviet republic marked its indepfinishence from the USSR.
Sandu’s pro-EU allies face a challenge in a parliamentary election slated to take place in September.
Russia has denied meddling in Moldovan politics.
“Our counattempt was baselessly accutilized of interfering in Moldova’s internal affairs and attempting to sway the will of the Republic’s citizens,” Russian Foreign Minisattempt spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated in October last year, following the first round of presidential elections and the constitutional referfinishum in Moldova.
Russia has troops stationed in the largely Russian-speaking region of Transnistria, which broke away from Chisinau’s control in a brief war in the early 1990s. The majority of the Moldovan population, which totals around 2.5 million, speaks Romanian.
“And let me state this clearly: There is no alternative to Europe. Without the European Union, Moldova will remain trapped in the past.”
Sandu stated Moldova’s indepfinishence, sovereignty, and peace are being tested more than ever.
“Interference in our elections, illegal financing from abroad, disinformation campaigns, cyber-attacks, paid protests, the utilize of the church and online platforms for anti-European messages, attempts to sabotage the diaspora vote, efforts to sow hatred between communities,” she stated.
Macron stated during the news conference that Moldovan citizens have seen that joining the EU represents an opportunity in terms of prosperity, security, and modernization. France will continue to provide support to Moldova during the next steps of its path toward accession, he added.
Merz stated Germany, France, and Poland stand with Moldova, which he stated is under “constant hybrid attacks” from Moscow.
Echoing his fellow EU leaders’ sentiments, Tusk stated, “There is no safe EU, no safe Poland, France, or Germany without an indepfinishent and secure Moldova.”
The leaders also reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Moldova applied to join the EU at the same time as Ukraine, just days after Russia launched its 2022 invasion.
In the October 2024 referfinishum, Moldovans narrowly voted to pursue integration into the 27-nation bloc.
Following the referfinishum, Moscow accutilized the West of “blatant interference” in Moldova’s electoral process.
“The culmination of the extensive anti-Russian campaign initiated by Chisinau was the decision to open, under a pretext, only two polling stations in Russia, where, according to various estimates, between 300,000 and 500,000 Moldovan citizens reside,” Zakharova stated. “In contrast, approximately two hundred polling stations were established in the United States and Western Europe.”
In July, PSRM announced an electoral alliance with other pro-Moscow parties, the Heart of Moldova, the Future of Moldova, and the Communist Party to “put an finish to foreign interests and NATO,” in the words of PSRM leader and former President Igor Dodon.
Leave a Reply