Cross Purpose in New York: Military Status of Moldova Becomes Bone of Contention in ACUM-PSRM Coalition

Dorin Mocanu Addressing the international community at the UN, Igor Dodon tried to please everyone. It seems that it did not work for anyone The speech of the President of Moldova Igor Dodon at the United Nations General Assembly provoked mixed reactions both inside and outside the country. According to Moldovan politicians and pro-Western experts, the President ignored the interests of the state and used the authoritative international platform to promote his concept of a ‘Big Package for Moldova’. Unexpectedly for many, the leader of the PSRM spoke frankly about the hopeless reality in which the present Moldova exists. After 28 years of independence, the socio-economic figures of the country look sad: according to Dodon, the state retains stable signs of disintegration. It’s the truth: just look at the latest September sociological survey by IMAS. In the case of a referendum on unification with Romania, 30% of citizens would vote in favor of joining the neighboring state. At the same time, 58% of Moldovans would vote for joining the European Union and 51% would vote for the Eurasian Economic Union. The Moldovan population increasingly considers it a boon to go ‘anywhere but independent’. It would be a different matter if it would be only the usual choice between West and East. Much more frightening is the growing number of unionists in Moldovan society who support the idea of reintegration with Romania, over the past 5 years they have doubled. At this rate, half of the country may become unionists in the next five years. In this case there are real grounds for holding a referendum on the future of Moldova. Dodon’s words about the multi-ethnic nature of the Moldovan state provoked quite a sharp reaction in Chisinau. Some experts saw this as an attempt to update the cultural and linguistic agenda of Moscow, which is imposed on the post-Soviet countries to protect the Russian-speaking population. Ideological politicians in Chisinau accused Dodon of “encroaching” on the long-term language policy of Moldova. As you know, Moldova confidently follows the path of creating a monolinguistic Romanian language area. The old idea of the Moldovan President on the internationally guaranteed neutral status of the Republic of Moldova, which was to be the result of a deal between the leading world powers, has undergone certain changes. Its obvious reinterpretation led to the President’s request to recognize the de facto neutrality of the country enshrined in the Constitution. This is tantamount to abandoning his former idée fixe about the global deal on Moldova. At the same time Maia Sandu explicitly criticized the proposal of the President: in her opinion, Moldova’s neutrality is a choice in favor of Transdniestria at the cost of European integration, which Chisinau cannot go for. The President is most criticized for his statements about the Russian military presence. The head of state is accused of “timidity” and the desire to camouflage a clear demand from Moscow to withdraw its troops and weapons from Moldova. The President’s speech in fact nullified last year’s UN General Assembly resolution. It also vividly demonstrated to the international community, which accomodated Moldovan politicians in 2018, the inconsistency of the country’s foreign policy. The position of the President caused a sharp reaction from both Maia Sandu with Andrei Nastase, and the Moldovan Foreign Ministry. Nevertheless, the Moldovan President did not miss the opportunity to mention the role of the US, EU and Russia in the political reconfiguration of Moldova this summer. According to Igor Dodon, such a mechanism should be applied in the Transdniestrian settlement as well. This approach was not supported by coalition colleagues, who saw this as a risk of Chisinau’s “withdrawal” from the settlement process and an attempt to impose a formula of relations with Tiraspol from the outside. Before speaking at the UN, the Moldovan President initially found himself in a difficult situation, when he had to take into account the interests of Russia, his own desire to be legalized in the West and the position of coalition partners. Shot in three birds with one stone has backfired against Dodon. Colleagues from ACUM were still dissatisfied with the President’s speech, which was criticized by the leaders of pro-European parties, as well as ordinary deputies and the Foreign Ministry. Apparently, it was not possible to please international partners. Dodon’s internationalism was clearly out of place, causing only wariness and suspicion among key political players. In the situation of general confrontation, they expect from Moldovan politicians a clear loyalty to one or another camp, and not serene speeches about global reconciliation for the benefit of Moldova. And it does not matter that these speeches may in fact be the objective truth, it seems that no one is looking for it in 2019.