Maia Sandu: "If I Am Invited to Russia I Will Go"

The new President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, told DW in an interview about the way Vladimir Putin congratulated her on victory, about her upcoming visit to Ukraine and about her attitude to Russian passports issuance to Transdniestrian residents. DW: Until recently, President Vladimir Putin did not congratulate Joe Biden, who won the US presidential election. But he was one of the first to congratulate you on your victory - even before your opponent Igor Dodon recognized the preliminary election results. Does this indicate a special affection for you? Maia Sandu: The Republic of Moldova has a fairly serious agenda in relation to the Russian Federation, that is, we have many issues that we must work on. For example, trade. We want to completely restore our exports to Russia. These are the problems of people who work in Russia. We need to create good conditions for them, solve social security issues. And, of course, there is the problem of the Transdniestrian conflict. I will work to help resolve these issues. - And still. Did Vladimir Putin's gesture please you, or on the contrary? - It seems to me that this is normal for two countries who want normal relations between them. - Do you think he extended his hand to you? - I hope that we will have good relations - between the Republic of Moldova and Russia. And for my part, I will do my best so that we can solve the problems that I spoke about. - Immediately after the announcement of the preliminary results of the elections, you received an invitation to pay visits to Ukraine and Romania. Who comes first for you and who comes second? - I cannot say that it is more important and less important. I said that one of the first tasks for me is to restore good relations with our neighbors. One of these days, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis will visit Moldova, and in January I will go to Kiev to meet with Mr. Zelensky. And this is just the beginning. We are very pleased that Mr. Iohannis's visit will take place very soon. - Have you invited Mr. Iohannis? - Yes, when he congratulated me immediately after the elections. - Why wasn't Volodymyr Zelensky invited? - Because he invited me. - What questions will be on the agenda of your visit to Ukraine in January? - We want to restore relations in full format. There was some work at the government level, but at the presidential level there were no meetings at all in these four years. We have many specific questions to which we must find solutions. This is the issue of security in the region, and the issues of our path to the European Union, the reforms that we must carry out to bring our countries closer to the EU, and, of course, issues of border delimitation and hydroelectric power plants. - Have you been invited to Russia? - So far, there has been no such invitation. - And if there is, will you go? - I will go if there is such an invitation. - Did you feel Russian interference in the electoral campaign in Moldova? - We know from the press that Mr. Dodon had consultants, as I understand it, from Russia. The question is whether the reports included all the costs of these consultants. This, I hope, will be clarified by our state authorities. We (for this. - Ed.) went to court. - The Hungarian Foreign Minister, who recently paid a visit to Moldova, accused the head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Peter Michalko of interfering in the internal affairs of the republic. It is known that the Romanian Ambassador also met with the candidate who came in third in the first round of elections in order to most likely convince him to come forward in your support. Do you think that EU support helped you win the elections? - I was able to win because the people of our country supported me. At the same time, all these years, when we fought for free and fair elections the European Union has always been near the citizens of Moldova. And when the authorities tried to make sure that the choice was not free, there were clear signals from the EU that the authorities should observe a democratic order. We are grateful to the European Union and other external partners who helped the citizens of our country so that we observe these democratic foundations. - For almost 30 years, Moldova has been trying to resolve the Transdniestrian conflict with the help of other mediating countries. Your predecessor also failed to make headway on this issue. Why? - You must ask him that. - What specific steps are you going to take? - First, for us the citizens of Transdniestrian are the citizens of our country, and we must make sure that their rights are respected, this is the most important thing. We want to continue measures to bring people closer together from both banks of the Dniester. We must make sure that people from the left bank of the Dniester will one day see that the quality of life on the right bank is better. It is necessary that all people want a solution to this issue. And, of course, we must fight smuggling and corruption. - Immediately after the elections, you announced the need to withdraw Russian troops from Transdniestria. Frankly, the statement is not new. Your predecessors also spoke about this, but it was to your words that Moscow reacted so sharply and quickly, calling the proposal irresponsible. Why was there such a reaction? - It always happens that way. There is the position of the Republic of Moldova and there is the position of Russia. I was asked what is the position of our country - I answered, they answered with their position. Now we need to sit down (at the negotiating table - Ed.) And find a solution to this issue. - If we assume that the Russian peacekeepers will not be there, then who can replace them? - Regarding the OGRV (Operational Group of Russian Forces in Transdniestria. - Ed.) There is no agreement on the part of the Government of the Republic of Moldova. This is the first question. And the second question is the weapons that are on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and which need to be removed. We talked about this last year, and Moscow agreed that it was necessary to dispose of and remove the ammunition. - Suppose that the conflict was resolved, what to do with Russian passports, which were issued on illegal grounds. Will you deprive people of Russian citizenship? - Residents of Transdniestria are citizens of the Republic of Moldova. This is their country, and, of course, the process will be difficult, on all issues but this is the only way, there is no other way. We must work to bring people closer together so that in the end we can find and implement a political solution.