European leaders stimulate Moldova in the face of “relentless” Russia

Managers of France, Germany and Poland went to Moldova to show its support for the country’s membership in the EU and warn of “incessant” Russia efforts to undermine this ambition.

The visit comes as Moldova marks 34 years of independence from Moscow, declared as the Soviet Union has collapsed.

But it also takes place a month before the critical parliamentary elections to which the EU and the Moldovan government fear that pro-Russian elements can gain ground.

Flanked by European heads of state, the pro-Western president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, told his country that it proved that the membership of the EU was “not a distant dream, but a project on which we work”, which is vital as a security guarantee.

“The ruthless war that Russia implements against Ukraine shows us daily that Europe means freedom and peace, while Putin’s Russia means war and death,” said the president.

Ukraine is nearby, just on the other side of the border.

Last year, Sandu called a referendum on consolidating the objective of membership in the EU to the Constitution. The “yes” vote has narrowly won.

Shortly after this vote, the president, who went to Harvard and used to work for the World Bank, won a second term after a second tense round.

There have been allegations of Russian interference in the evidence of everything, generalized disinformation campaigns to pay in cash for votes, as our own team discovered on the ground.

Today, the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that it is because Moscow “tries tirelessly to undermine freedom and prosperity in Moldova”, while Vladimir Putin tries to return him to the fold of Russia.

In response, Sandu focuses on forging solid relations with Europe.

In Chisinau, she presented the red carpet for her guests, welcoming each of the leaders in turn before driving them along a red carpet bordered by soldiers who care for white and elaborate capes.

Inside, in front of the EU flags, President Emmanuel Macron described belonging to the block as the “clear and sovereign choice” of Moldova and said that he was there to transmit “a message of solidarity and confidence” in this process of France.

Donald Tusk recalled how the own trip from Poland from the shadow of Moscow to the membership of the EU had been strewn with challenges, but was worth work. “You have chosen the right track,” said Polish Prime Minister. “You have chosen peace and not war, and we support your aspirations.”

Moldova has been a fervent supporter of Ukraine since the start of the large -scale invasion of Russia, fearing that its own land will also be in Putin’s views. Today, Merz said that Europe and the United States “put everything” trying to end war there.

“We want to see weapons in Ukraine finally to be silent … ideally today … But not at all costs,” warned the Chancellor. “We do not want to see the capitulation of Ukraine. Such a capitulation would buy time for Russia, and Putin would use it to prepare for the next war.”

The party of President Sandu, not, hopes that the elections next month will give him a new mandate to advance the reforms and continue to get closer to Europe, after the country began the official membership talks last year.

But the polls suggest that the steps will lose seats – and probably its majority – in Parliament.

This is why the president called in the European Cavalry for the day of independence: eager to make the path of Moldova towards adherence to the EU as “irreversible” as she affirmed.