Moldova firms up EU ties in the face of Russian propaganda, with Transnistria the key challenge

euronews (in English)

The Moldovan government is boosting its efforts to improve EU support among its divided public — partly by emphasising its strategic importance during the Ukraine war.

Transcript

00:00Moldova is deeply polarized among pro-EU and pro-Russian public opinions.

00:12A referendum on the accession of the country to the EU displayed that only a tiny majority

00:16of the Moldovan people wants to join the bloc.

00:22The Moldovan foreign minister, Mihai Popsoy, was in Brussels to affirm his government's

00:26will to catch up on the EU integration against all geopolitical odds.

00:38Many Moldovans would have liked to be in the same position as our brothers in Romania or

00:42like our good friends from the Baltic countries.

00:46And Russian propaganda is very instrumental in feeding this narrative that you are never

00:51going to be in Europe, that you are second class.

00:55But we need to work hard to combat that narrative to show that we are already a candidate country,

00:59that we are already advancing on our European path.

01:03The war in Ukraine has also put Moldova under the spotlights of the international stage.

01:08The country played an essential strategic role of logistic hub and rear guard.

01:14Due to its pending problems with Russia in its breakaway region of Transnistria, Moldova

01:19considers that a simple ceasefire wouldn't be the solution for Ukraine.

01:24Nobody in line with international law can recognize what Russia claims to be its territory

01:31now because it's not.

01:33It's Ukraine's territory.

01:35And we will look at how the things will develop, but we also are encouraged by the support

01:43that we get from our friends in Kyiv that whenever the discussion will come, we also

01:47hope that the Transnistrian issue will be part of the solution.

01:51There are Russian troops and munitions in Moldova that need to leave.

01:54And in the context of this settlement, that should also be on the agenda.

01:58The Transnistrian question has been representing a crucial political burden for Moldova's development.

02:06The over 30 years old ceasefire between the pro-Russian breakaway region and the legitimate

02:11Republic of Moldova has by far proved only useful to the interests of Moscow.

02:20I'm afraid we are not in a position to impose outcomes or suggest outcomes.

02:25We have our own frozen conflict for 30 years and we would certainly not recommend it to

02:29anyone.

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