Dodon: Break with CIS Is a Strategic Foreign Policy Mistake of Moldovan Authorities

The policy of disengagement from the CIS being pursued by pro-EU integration Molovan President Maia Sandu and the ruling Action and Solidarity Party is misguided and will take its toll on the country. The former Moldovan President and Leader of the opposition Socialist Party, Igor Dodon, said that on Sunday, tass.ru reported. "This is a strategic mistake in the foreign policy of the current authorities. In what way does the CIS slow down their policy? The CIS membership certainly does not hinder the European integration. The EU has never made it a condition: if you want to trade with us, be friends with us, then leave the CIS", the former President said on the local GRT TV channel. "The Moldovan leadership is driven by unhealthy political ambitions that do not comply with the interests of the republic. Fortunately, leaving the CIS is a very long-term process. I think that the current government will simply not have enough time to break what we have been creating for years. We will definitely cooperate with our CIS partners, use our observer status in the EAEU and further deepen our integration processes," Dodon said. He mentioned that "Moldova is going to withdraw from traditional platforms at the time when competent rulers of other countries are making decisions on additional cooperation - with the EAEC, BRICS, SCO". The country's attitude towards the CIS began to change after the victory of Sandu in the 2020 presidential elections. Sandu never participated in the CIS summits. This year, Chisinau's rhetoric towards the Commonwealth toughened: Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu announced the denunciation of some agreements signed within the Commonwealth framework. However, Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization Dumitru Alaiba said that the republic should leave in place those agreements that are useful to the economy. The same opinion has Agriculture and Food Minister Vladimir Bolea, who believes that leaving the CIS would be a blow to the country's main industry. Russian Foreign Ministry Speaker Maria Zakharova called Chisinau's policy duplicitous, noting that the Moldovan authorities are in no hurry to give up the social and economic benefits of participation in the Commonwealth while announcing their desire to leave the CIS.