Putin to be arrested if he comes to Moldova - Sandu

The relevant statement was made by President Maia Sandu, Ukrinform reports citing NewsMaker.

On the air of Euronews Romania, Sandu was asked if Putin comes to Moldova, will he be arrested under the ICC warrant.

"Yes. Moldova has signed an agreement with the International Criminal Court and will comply with the court's decision," she said, answering the journalist's question.

Sandu also said that Moldova is not in danger now, as the war started by Russia is far from the country's borders.

"Now there is no risk of military invasion for the Republic of Moldova thanks to Ukraine, which keeps the Russian army away from our borders. But we are facing Russia's attempts to destabilize our country. We talked about these attempts a few months ago. Fortunately, our institutions have managed to protect the country, and we are becoming more resilient. For many years, we have seen that Russia has been trying to blackmail our country using energy," Sandu said.

She emphasized that for the first time since gaining independence, Moldova, with the exception of Transnistria, does not consume Russian gas.

"This is happening for the first time. This means that we are diversifying, that we are not dependent on Russia, as we have been for three decades. We are working, becoming more resilient, but of course we need support. Propaganda is a big problem, and it has affected our democratic process," the president added.

However, according to her, part of the church, as well as some politicians, are Russia's interests in Moldova. The state institutions are taking the necessary measures to thwart their efforts.

"We are strengthening our institutions, reforming our intelligence services, developing a new security strategy for the country to make sure that our state will be strong enough to prevent such people from undermining our state," Sandu emphasized.

According to Sandu, there is currently a criminal, corrupt group headed by a man convicted of fraud in the banking industry and now hiding in Israel. "He is the main representative of Russian attempts to destabilize Moldova. Our institutions are documenting, collecting evidence, and we hope to see more results in this process in order to deal with those who are working against the Republic of Moldova, who are trying to undermine our efforts and who are serving the interests of Russia," the Moldovan president emphasized.

Sandu also touched upon the Transnistrian issue, emphasizing that Tiraspol is currently moving closer to Europe.

"Speaking of Transnistria, half of the region's exports go to the EU. Today, half of the citizens of the Transnistrian region who work abroad work in the EU. This is significantly different from the situation ten years ago, when all exports from the region went to Russia, when people went to Russia to work. We are committed to a peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian problem. The closer we are to the EU, the more interest we will see from Moldovan citizens on the left bank in reunification," the head of state emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported, on March 17, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova.

The Russian president and his envoy are suspected of war crimes - deportation and illegal transfer of population, including children, from the occupied territory of Ukraine.