Ciubasenko: Chisinau and Moscow Finalized Unfriendly Relations

A clause on recognizing Moldova’s territorial integrity and settling the Transdniestrian problem has been excluded from Russia’s new foreign policy concept, which came into force Friday after it was signed by Vladimir Putin. “The previous version of the concept, which was in effect since 2016, stated that ‘Russia strongly advocates a political and diplomatic settlement of conflicts in the post-Soviet space, in particular promoting, through the existing multilateral negotiation mechanism, a comprehensive settlement of the Transdniestrian problem based on respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and neutral status of Moldova while defining a special status for Transdniestria’,” publicist and politician Dmitry Ciubasenko posted in social networks, mybusiness.md reports. “There is no such point in the new version of the concept. Neither Moldova nor Transdniestria are ever mentioned in this document.” One of the goals of Russian policy in the near abroad is described as “countering the deployment or amplification of the military infrastructure of unfriendly states and other threats to Russian security in the near abroad”. All states of the European Union, of which Moldova is a candidate member, are recognized by Russia as unfriendly. This week Moldovan President Maia Sandu attended the Summit for Democracy organized by the U.S. and signed the summit’s final declaration. Among other things, the document condemns “the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine” and demands “the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all of its (Russia’s) armed forces from Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.” The same week, Sandu, at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, visited Kyiv where she took part in the “Bucha-2023 Summit”. In this way, Chisinau and Moscow completed the formalization of unfriendly relations between the two countries. The Moldovan authorities are part of the global anti-Russian coalition, which set a goal to strategically defeat Russia. In response, Russia refused to recognize the territorial integrity of Moldova and help it to resolve the Transdniestrian problem. The puzzle is solved,” Ciubasenko sums up.