President Maia Sandu visits Bucharest

A poet once launched a metaphor reading as follows: ‘a citizen of the Republic of Moldova who comes to Bucharest makes a trip "from home to home"’. Created on part of the eastern Romanian territories annexed in 1940, following an ultimatum by Stalin’s Soviet Union, the Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence from Moscow on August 27, 1991, after the failure of the neo-Bolshevik coup against the last Soviet leader, the reformer Mikhail Gorbachev. On the same day, Romania became the first country in the world to recognize the statehood of its new neighbor. On Thursday, the president of the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Western Maia Sandu, herself holder of Romanian citizenship, came to Bucharest as if she were coming at home.

The security situation was the main point on the agenda of the talks with her counterpart, Klaus Iohannis. According to the Moldovan officials, the republic is facing all the elements of a hybrid war, such as false bomb alerts, cyber-attacks, illegally financed protests, energy blackmail from Russia. The pro-war propaganda, incitement to hatred, misinformation, which are parts of the same hybrid war, are meant to weaken the resilience of citizens, the Moldovan officials add, and President Sandu herself announced, this month, the foiling of a coup planned in Moscow, in which mercenaries from Russia, Belarus, Serbia and Montenegro were supposed to destabilize the republic.

The information regarding a Russian plot to overthrow the government of the Republic of Moldova is deeply worrying - the spokesperson for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, immediately reacted. He admitted that the alleged plot was not confirmed by independent sources but added that it was certainly not outside the limits of Russian behavior. The Romanian president also emphasized that the external threats to the democratic order in the Republic of Moldova were particularly worrying. President Iohannis pointed out that Romania would continue to support the respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, within its internationally recognized borders. "I assure you that the Republic of Moldova is not alone in the face of these challenges," he told Maia Sandu.

In turn, Maia Sandu said that the joint projects with Romania help the Republic of Moldova to resist and move forward on the European path. "In this complicated period, Romania stands by us, sincerely and disinterestedly. While some are blackmailing us, others are embracing us" - she concluded. Maia Sandu also announced that the new government in Chisinau, installed less than two weeks ago, would continue the dialogue with Romania, and that the PM Dorin Recean would next week come to Bucharest, on his first visit abroad after taking office. (LS)