Moldova denounces CIS agreement on books
The Republic of Moldova has decided to withdraw from the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Publishing, Book Distribution, and Printing, which was signed in Almaty on February 10, 1995, as part of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This decision was approved by the Parliament during its meeting on July 28.
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Marcela Nistor, stated in the plenary session of the Parliament that the proposal to terminate the agreement is based on the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the context of the process of re-evaluating the participation of the Republic of Moldova in the treaties concluded within the CIS.
"The need for termination results from several considerations. The cooperation it provides is largely based on traditional mechanisms for the physical circulation of publications and on institutional exchanges, which entail considerable logistical and postal costs. The agreement does not provide financing mechanisms, dedicated funds or other concrete instruments to support the participation of publishing houses, libraries or authors from the Republic of Moldova in international projects," the State Secretary emphasized.
The official also said that in recent years, the Republic of Moldova has developed its own mechanisms to support books and promote national authors abroad. Through the Program for the Translation and Publishing of the National Book Abroad, 13 titles were supported in eight countries in 2025, and another 11 titles are being supported in nine countries this year. In total, funding of over three million lei was allocated for this program.
Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) deputy Marcel Spătari, chairman of the European Integration Committee, stated that the Republic of Moldova denounces this agreement because it cannot collaborate in the field of book publishing and distribution with a state that, according to him, "darkens people's minds with xenophobic and hateful propaganda".
*"However, this does not mean that Russian-language books will disappear from Moldovan bookstores. Booksellers will continue to be able to import Russian-language books. I urge you to buy these books and other books and read in any language. Because people who read are harder to manipulate, the parliamentarian said.
PAS MP Marcela Adam also stated that denouncing the agreement does not mean limiting access to culture or giving up books or the Russian language.
"We denounce an instrument through which the Russian Federation would have wanted to maintain cultural and linguistic influence on the Republic of Moldova and beyond. The Republic of Moldova has every right to establish its own priorities," said the parliamentarian.
She said that, in a free society, access to culture is guaranteed, not censored, and the future of the Republic of Moldova's cultural policies is focused on cooperation with democratic states, participation in European programs dedicated to culture and translations, promotion of Moldovan authors abroad and support for national publishers and publishing houses.
"No censorship and no blacklists. We choose a community in which books circulate freely, because a state that is secure in itself is not afraid of books, only dictatorships are afraid of libraries," added Marcela Adam.
On the other hand, the opposition criticized the denunciation of the agreement, accusing the government of causing a new rupture with the CIS space. Communist deputy Constantin Starîș warned that the decision could affect cultural exchanges and access to books by authors from the Republic of Moldova in the Community states.
59 deputies voted for the denunciation.
To date, the Republic of Moldova has denounced approximately 70 agreements concluded within the CIS. Among the most important documents from which the state withdrew are the Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS and the Statute of the Community, denounced by the Parliament's decision of April 2, 2026.
