Maia Sandu to AFP: "We can save our democracy only if we are part of the EU"
The Republic of Moldova wants to join the European Union "as soon as possible" to protect itself from the Russian threat and hopes for a decision "in the next few months" on opening negotiations, President Maia Sandu said in an interview with Agence France Presse on Thursday, quoted by Agerpres.
"Of course, nothing compares to what is happening in Ukraine, but we see the risk and believe that we can save our democracy only if we are part of the EU," Maia Sandu said, a few days ahead of a pro-European demonstration to be followed by an unprecedented European summit in Chisinau.
"Russia will continue to be a great source of instability and we must protect ourselves"
The former Soviet republic of 2.6 million people sees its entry into the EU as the only guarantee that it will not be Russia's next target after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, headlines France Presse.
The Moldovan president said on the sidelines of the Council of Europe summit, which ended on Wednesday in Iceland, that "Russia will continue to be a great source of instability in the coming years and we must protect ourselves".
In February, Maia Sandu accused Russia of plotting a coup to overthrow the legitimately elected power.
In power since 2020, the president of Moldova - Europe's poorest country, reports AFP - called for a large pro-EU demonstration in Chisinau on Sunday to show Moldovans' support for EU membership.
"The war in Ukraine has put things in black and white: it is now very clear what the free world means and what the authoritarian world means for all of us," said the first woman to lead the Republic of Moldova, of which an entire region, Transnistria, is actually under Russian control, notes France Presse.
"We hope there will be a decision on opening accession negotiations in the coming months"
The invasion of Ukraine has raised the hitherto highly unlikely assumption of Ukrainian and Moldovan membership in the near future.
"We believe that accession is a realistic project and we would be happy for it to happen as soon as possible," Maia Sandu told AFP, hoping "there will be a decision on the opening of negotiations in the coming months".
In June 2022, the EU granted Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova the status of official candidates for membership. However, many obstacles remain in the way of its accession to the European bloc, promising a process that could take until at least the 2030s.
Aside from economic fragility and problems with persistent corruption, Moldova also needs to find a solution for breakaway Transnistria, a pro-Russian region of 300,000 people in the east of the country.
"We still have things to do, but we are fighting very hard and that is our main objective now," insisted Maia Sandu, whose country announced its withdrawal from the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
"We want to continue to be part of the free world, we see what is happening in Ukraine, we see that Russia is trying to prevent countries in the region from becoming democratic," she said.
Although Ukraine also wants to join NATO, this is a difficult card for Chisinau to play, as Moldova is a neutral state under its constitution.
Maia Sandu stressed that she respects neutrality and the will of the people.
"Our friends trust us to organise such an important event"
However, there is talk in Moldovan society about the fragility of the security guarantees offered by neutrality. Thus, "if at some point people change their opinion, then of course we would reconsider this decision," said President Maia Sandu.
Ukraine's desire to join NATO was one of the reasons cited by Russia to trigger its invasion, with Moscow accusing the West of expanding far into its borders in its former Soviet zone of influence.
In this pressing context, the organisation of the summit of the European Political Community (EPC), which informally brings together most European countries, including EU candidate countries, is seen by Chisinau as a guarantee of its security.
"It is important, because we see that we are not alone, that we have many friends and that our friends trust us to organise such an important event," said Maia Sandu, the new political favourite of the European scene, who is particularly close to French President Emmanuel Macron, according to Agence France Presse, quoted by Agerpres.
