Support for the Republic of Moldova

A neighbour of Ukraine and Romania, the Republic of Moldova is strongly affected by the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. This small country, with a population of three million and one of the poorest in Europe, received hundreds of Ukrainian refugees, many of whom have stayed. Also, the Moldovan authorities said almost 70% of the country’s maritime exports were affected by the war in Ukraine, with 23% of its exports going through Romanian ports.

During talks in Iaşi, in north-eastern Romania, the president of the agriculture committee in the Moldovan Parliament Vladimir Bolea called on the Romanian authorities to amend the legislation and set up joint border check points between the two states: „There are administrative obstacles, namely the Moldovan-Romanian border facilities, which are small and underdeveloped, and the low number of bridges. Many customs facilities were abandoned and in disrepair, the situation is simply unacceptable in 2022 and naturally we would like to see changes take place in practice”, said the Moldovan MP. He also explained that the European Union has not yet fully opened its doors to Moldovan products.

Fears are also growing that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict may spill over into Russian-speaking Transnistria, a break-away region in the east of Moldova, following a series of violent incidents the origin of which is unknown. The United States is ready supply weapons to the Republic of Moldova if the latter requests it, as indicated by members of the US Congress on a trip to Moldova. They said they voted a support package for Ukraine and Moldova worth 40 billion dollars of humanitarian and military assistance. Recently, Britain’s foreign secretary Liz Truss said Moldova should be equipped to NATO standards to help protect it from the threat of Russian invasion. She said talks are under way to ensure that Moldova’s defence may discourage a future attack.

If these plans are adopted, NATO members would supply modern weaponry to replace Moldova’s Soviet-era equipment and will train Moldovan soldiers on how to use it. These statements were made after the leader of the break-away Transnistria Vadim Krasnoselski said the only solution to the Transnistria problem is for its independence to be recognised. (Leyla Cheamil, Radio Romania International)