Why did Sweden give up its neutrality status and join the NATO bloc? What risks are involved in the coming to power of a pro-Russian President and how can Moldova maintain its neutrality, relying on its own forces. These issues were treated by Sweden’s Ambassador to Moldova Katarina Fried in an interview with IPN News Agency.
IPN: Since September 2021, you have been serving as Ambassador of Sweden in Chisinau. Sweden is one of Moldova’s key partners and bilateral relations have strengthened further in the last two years. How has the Republic of Moldova evolved in these years?
Katarina Fried: First of all, thank you very much for the invitation to be here today. I want to say that these three years have been extraordinary for me. What I experienced here was a remarkable journey, under very difficult circumstances. When I arrived, there was still COVID pandemic, followed by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, which generated the refugee crisis, the energy crisis and economic crisis.
The Republic of Moldova managed, however, to overcome these challenges. In parallel with the management of these crises, you have achieved exceptional performance in the European integration process. You now have the EU candidate status and it is very impressive to see that you managed to become independent from Russian gas. All these achievements are extremely impressive. Being here and seeing all the difficulties and the work done for these successes is very, very inspiring.
