The president of Republic of Moldova called on her compatriots on Monday to gather at a mass outdoor assembly next month to endorse her drive for closer integration with Europe, according to Reuters.
Republic of Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries wedged between Ukraine and Romania, has been buffeted by Russia’s war in Ukraine which President Maia Sandu has repeatedly denounced. Parts of missiles fired in the Ukraine conflict have landed in Moldova.
The country has received generous Western funding since Sandu took office in 2020 with a mandate to fight cooperation and move closer to Europe.
“Let us show the entire world that the citizens of Republic of Moldova want peace and democracy in their country and want Republic of Moldova to become a part of the European Union,” Sandu said in a televised address.
“I am making this appeal because at critical moments, important decisions are taken not only by politicians. Big decisions are taken by people during Great National Assemblies,” she said.
“The time has come for Moldovans to show that we are a people that can defend democracy and peace. … We are Europeans and at the Great National Assembly on 21st May, we will show that this is the path we have chosen.”
Sandu holds a wide lead in opinion surveys, though the pro-Russian president she defeated in 2020, Igor Dodon, is still seen as her sole real rival for the job. Dodon was elected on Monday as one of the leaders of the opposition Socialist Party.
Republic of Moldova, like Ukraine, has formally sought to become a member of the European Union, a process which normally takes several years. But its constitution sets down a policy of neutrality which rules out NATO membership.
The country remains beset by the presence of a pro-Russian separatist statelet, Transdniestria, 30 years after a brief war pitting it against newly independent Moldova’s army.
Some 1,500 Russian “peacekeepers” remain in Transdniestria and its leaders accuse Ukraine of trying to topple them. In turn, Republic of Moldova accuses Russia of trying to destabilise it.
Moscow has been critical of Sandu’s pro-Western moves and on Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced calls by NATO for closer cooperation with Moldova.
“Let us hope that there are still political forces in Republic of Moldova able to realise that rapprochement with NATO is fraught with a loss of sovereignty,” Zakharova wrote.