Dodon: CIS Countries Need to Fight Political Challenges Together

The current President of Moldova Igor Dodon believes that "the CIS countries need to stick together to cope with political challenges." He stated this on Friday at the summit of t CIS heads state that was being held online under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan,  infotag.md reported. “In the past year, the fears that we have expressed more than once were confirmed - there is a clear strategy aimed at destabilizing the internal political situation within the CIS countries, at creating hotbeds of instability within its space, it is mainly aimed against our main strategic partner - the Russian Federation. It would be naive to believe that pressure and subversive action in the post-Soviet space will weaken in 2021. To cope with political challenges, we need to stick together more than ever, our countries and peoples must do this - we will not be able to individually cope with threats, " Dodon said ... He pointed out as well the need for active interaction between the CIS and EAEU formats. "In 2021, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the creation of the CIS, but this anniversary also has a downside - the end of the existence of the USSR. And only unification within the Commonwealth saved our countries from a complete rupture of ties that have been developing for centuries," Dodon said. According to him, despite the fact that many viewed the CIS as a temporary union, "the commonwealth has proved its viability." At the same time, the President of the Republic of Moldova believes that the statements "about the uselessness of this association are associated with a lack of awareness among people, a low level of awareness of what the CIS is doing, what is its importance." Dodon noted the TV company "Mir" as the broadcasting organ of the CIS, while considering that "in the modern conditions of information wars this media resource is not enough." "We need to use modern information and communication technologies, that are especially in demand among the younger generation. It is advisable to use the capabilities of non-governmental organizations, create new discussion platforms, attract expert and journalistic corps and adopt a plan for CIS information promotion," Dodon said. He drew "special attention to the need to strengthen interaction between the CIS and the EAEU", as well as the expediency "to combine the activities of the CIS and the EAEU, since the CIS is essentially also a Eurasian integration association." "I believe that interaction between the two formats will contribute to the further advancement of both Eurasian integration and the development of both associations," Dodon said. Dodon noted that in Moldova, like in most countries of the world, the epidemiological situation is not improving, the economic situation is also deteriorating due to unprecedented drought - in the first nine months of 2020, the volume of agricultural production decreased by 25%, GDP - by 8%". But, in his opinion, the authorities managed to introduce "a set of measures that made it possible preventing the socio-economic catastrophe."