Moldova wants to join EU as soon as possible due to Russian threat - Sandu
Moldova wants to become a member of the European Union as soon as possible because of the threat from Russia and hopes for a decision to start negotiations in the coming months.
The President of Moldova Maia Sandu said this in an interview with AFP, Ukrinform reports.
As noted, for Sandu, EU membership is the only guarantee that Moldova will not become Russia's next target.
"Of course, nothing compares to what is happening in Ukraine, but we see the risks and we do believe that we can save our democracy only as part of the EU. We do believe that Russia will continue to be a big source of instability for the years to come and we need to protect ourselves," she said.
Sandu accused Russia of organizing a coup to attempt to seize power in Moldova. She called on Moldovans, who, according to polls, are overwhelmingly in favor of the country's accession to the European Union, to hold a rally in support of the EU on Sunday.
"The Ukraine war made things black and white. So it's very clear what the free world means, and what the authoritarian world means, for all of us," Sandu said.
Regarding Transnistria, Sandu said that Chisinau is fighting for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and "we've been calling on Russia to withdraw its illegally stationed troops."
"We need a geopolitical opportunity to be able to solve the conflict," Sandu said
Sandu, who has begun the process of seceding from the Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, emphasized: "What kind of relations can you have with a regime which kills innocent people in the neighbouring country?"
According to her, Moldova is ready to cooperate only with "democratic countries, with countries which respect the territorial integrity of other countries, which respect the international rules based system."
The president also noted that Moldova is not yet reconsidering its position of neutrality.
"But there are discussions in our society about whether neutrality protects us and if at some point people will change their view, of course we will reconsider this decision. In the meantime, we are trying to consolidate the defence sector of Moldova and we are counting on our friends" President of Moldova said
As reported, Moldova will host the second summit of the European Political Community on June 1.
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