Moldovan Diplomacy’s Collapse

Sergiu CEBAN

The high-profile scandal surrounding the Afghan delegation’s visit to Moldova dealt a severe blow to the country’s international reputation and served as yet another stark reminder of the dismal state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during Mihai Popsoi’s tenure

The ruling party is going through perhaps its toughest weeks since coming to power, crumbling under the weight of its own mistakes and blatant incompetence. For over a month now, Moldova has been rocked by corruption scandals, the trail of which leads directly to the country’s top leadership and the PAS. Added to this is the de facto blockade of negotiations on European integration and the looming socioeconomic collapse caused by sharp price hikes for fuel, gas, and electricity, which threaten to leave citizens without the means to make a living. And just when it seemed things couldn’t get any worse, another “break” occurred where it was least expected. While Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi is “syncing watches” with Ukrainian diplomats in Kyiv, pretending to be active on the foreign policy front, an official delegation from Afghanistan arrived in Moldova unhindered. The news sparked a barrage of criticism even among those loyal to the government. This comes as no surprise at all. There will be more and more such blunders, since key government posts are held by complete amateurs who surround themselves with equally short-sighted subordinates. The current head of Moldova’s diplomatic service is the most striking embodiment of the principle of “cronyism and loyalty over professionalism.” His appointment in January 2024 marked, in many ways, a point of no return for the ministry. A man with neither basic diplomatic experience nor the skills to operate on the international stage was put in charge of Moldova’s international relations solely on the basis of his personal loyalty to Maia Sandu. The result has been the complete collapse of the foreign ministry. Popsoi, who even looks as if he accidentally wandered into someone else’s office, managed in a short time to drag the country’s diplomatic reputation down to unprecedented lows, turning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into an ideological appendage of the ruling party. At the same time, there was a deliberate replacement of “old-school” officials – who possessed real clout and an understanding of global processes – with loyal Euro-optimists lacking any serious diplomatic background. Over the past two and a half years, the country’s foreign policy has become decidedly one-track. All attention, resources, and rhetoric have been focused on Brussels and Bucharest, while traditional partners have been completely ignored – and, in many cases, bridges with them have been deliberately burned. The main – and, in essence, the only – achievement has been the negotiations on accession to the European Union, although even here one could argue about the actual contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs specifically to this effort. Furthermore, the ministry has demonstrated a high level of, almost servile, activity regarding Ukraine, manifested in endless public gestures of solidarity and visits that yield zero benefits for our citizens. As a result, Moldova has lost its room for maneuver on the international stage, becoming an obedient recipient of others’ will. At the same time, relations in the East – particularly with Russia and the CIS – have been reduced to the level of primitive “megaphone diplomacy.” Although the severing of ties was a deliberate move by the government, the Foreign Ministry was unable to provide an effective economic “safety net.” Meanwhile, the very process of withdrawing from the CIS has turned into a farce that has dragged on for years. The spillover of domestic political struggles onto the international stage was also unprecedented. It is a well-established fact that Popsoi’s ministry began actively lobbying for and coordinating a ban on Moldovan opposition politicians entering EU countries. So instead of promoting national exports, attracting investment, and protecting the rights of citizens abroad, diplomats are spending public funds to discredit their own citizens in the eyes of foreign governments. Wonderful. Equally striking is the Foreign Ministry leadership’s detachment from socioeconomic reality. A telling example of Popsoi’s personnel policy and worldview was his recent public complaints about the “severe psychological trauma” suffered by the children of Moldovan diplomats who are forced to attend elite schools in the United Arab Emirates or China. These remarks, made against the backdrop of the population’s rapid impoverishment, sparked a wave of outrage and, unsurprisingly, ridicule. This entire set of factors was bound to lead to a diplomatic disaster, which will inevitably have tangible domestic political repercussions. And that catastrophe took the form of a major scandal stemming from the fact that our Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially approved the invitation and issued entry visas to an Afghan government delegation that is entirely controlled by the radical Taliban movement (an organization subject to UN sanctions). The incident came as a shock, including to external partners. Why does Chisinau officially declare that it does not recognize the Taliban, yet issue visas to their representatives? How, given PAS’s total control over the security services, the State Border Guard Service, and border guards, were members of a radical Islamist regime able to legally enter Moldova? The answer is simple – due to the breakdown of basic inter-agency coordination mechanisms. And not least because, under Popsoi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has turned into an autonomous, uncontrolled entity where decisions are made based on obscure, narrow-group interests, while the state’s migration screening system has been paralyzed. In fact, this is not just a diplomatic blunder, but also a blow to the UN’s conventional sanctions policy. In 2025, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The regime is accused of crimes against humanity, murder, torture, rape, and enforced disappearances. For this reason, in international practice, contact with its emissaries carries the risk of legitimizing the regime and serious legal consequences. Yet Moldova, which claims to uphold European values and currently holds the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, has readily granted entry to its territory to those who persecute women, journalists, and human rights defenders, deny part of the population the right to education, and destroy fundamental freedoms. This move completely discredits our country’s foreign policy and its international image of commitment to democratic ideals. The incident has practically nullified all of Popsoi’s rhetoric about Moldova’s ability to ensure security standards and serve as the EU’s external border. Perhaps someone in the ruling party will finally come to realize that appointing a person from the non-governmental sector to the post of foreign minister was a strategic mistake. As long as such “professionals” remain at the helm of key government agencies, Moldova will rapidly lose what remains of its international reputation and the trust of its partners. It would seem that rock bottom was reached long ago, but at this rate, Popsoi’s team will prove time and again that this is far from the limit.