https://arab.news/pnsjc
- Moldova will host the gathering of the European Political Community
- President Maia Sandu: 鈥榃e need a geopolitical opportunity to be able to solve the conflict鈥�
REYKJAVIK: Moldova wants EU membership 鈥渁s soon as possible鈥� as protection against a threat from Russia and hopes for a decision to start negotiations 鈥渋n the next months,鈥� President Maia Sandu said in an interview.
The small nation of 2.6 million people, nestled between EU neighbor Romania and war-ravaged Ukraine, will on June 1 hold its first major summit of wider Europe.
That gathering of the European Political Community 鈥� a forum created last year that brings together leaders of all 27 EU countries with 20 neighbors of the bloc 鈥� will be an occasion for Moldova to burnish its candidate credentials.
For Sandu, EU membership is the only guarantee against becoming Russia鈥檚 next target.
Her country, a former Soviet republic, already has a breakaway region, Transnistria, where Russia has stationed a small number of troops.
鈥淥f course, nothing compares to what is happening in Ukraine, but we see the risks and we do believe that we can save our democracy only as part of the EU,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e do believe that Russia will continue to be a big source of instability for the years to come and we need to protect ourselves,鈥� added Sandu, on the sidelines of a Council of Europe of summit in Iceland that wrapped up on Tuesday.
The 50-year-old leader, in office since 2020, in February accused Russia of fomenting a coup to try to seize power in Moldova.
She has called for Moldovans 鈥� who polls show are overwhelmingly behind joining the European Union 鈥� to hold a pro-EU rally on Sunday.
鈥淭he Ukraine war made things black and white. So it鈥檚 very clear what the free world means, and what the authoritarian world means, for all of us,鈥� she said.
Russia鈥檚 war next door suddenly firmed up the prospect of EU membership for Ukraine and Moldova.
Both countries applied last year to join the bloc and in June 2022 became candidate countries, along with Georgia.
鈥淲e do believe that this is a realistic project for us and we are looking forward to see this happening as soon as possible,鈥� Sandu said.
Membership, however, could take a decade or more to attain, given the long list of requirements candidate countries must meet to be able to sit alongside the other nations in the European single market.
Unlike Ukraine, Moldova is small enough to be able to be integrated into the European Union relatively easily.
But it faces several challenges to bring its democratic standards up to EU levels, notably in terms of fighting corruption.
Its fragile economy, energy security and the issue of Transnistria, with its 30,000 pro-Russian population, all need to be addressed as well.
Transnistria, in the east of Moldova, is not recognized by the international community. The zone sprang up in 1990 after a brief civil war that erupted when the Soviet Union collapsed, and ended up from 1992 as a frozen conflict.
鈥淲e are struggling to have peaceful resolution of the conflict, and we鈥檝e been calling on Russia to withdraw its illegally stationed troops,鈥� Sandu said.
鈥淲e need a geopolitical opportunity to be able to solve the conflict.鈥�
The president, who has started the process of taking her country out of the Russia-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, added: 鈥淲hat kind of relations can you have with a regime which kills innocent people in the neighboring country?鈥�
Moldova was ready to cooperate only with 鈥渄emocratic countries, with countries which respect the territorial integrity of other countries, which respect the international rules based system,鈥� she said.
Russia brandished Ukraine鈥檚 desire to one day join NATO as one of its justifications for invading its neighbor.
For Moldova, that is not a door on which it is about to knock.
Moldova was not rethinking its stance of being a neutral country for now, Sandu said.
鈥淏ut there are discussions in our society about whether neutrality protects us and if at some point people will change their view, of course we will reconsider this decision. In the meantime, we are trying to consolidate the defense sector of Moldova and we are counting on our friends.鈥�
For 鈥渇riends鈥� Moldova is leaning heavily on the other participating countries of the European Political Community.
The June 1 summit in Chisnau, Sandu said, 鈥渋s important because we see that we are not alone, that we have many friends鈥�.