IPN interview with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkeavicius, September 2, 2014.
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- You are in Chisinau because you, together with another 27 EU foreign ministers, took part in the ninth meeting of the European Action Group for Moldova. Will you explain as accessibly and succinctly as possible to the people from my country why does Moldova need such a format of dialog and why the 28 ministers have to come to Chisinau for this?

- If being succinct, I must note that Moldova chose the European course that requires dialogue and communication with all the EU member states given that the decisions in our countries are taken by consensus. That’s why we all, the representatives of the EU member states, came to Chisinau. Our interests are common – to contribute to the development and modernization of the Republic of Moldova.

- By what was this meeting different from the previous eight and what emphases were put in it?

- Moldova signed and ratified the Association Agreement and the provisional implementation of this accord started on the day of our meeting as you know, on September 1. Such coincidences are not accidental. Surely our arrival is a sign of solidarity and support in this process, a sign of the recognition of the work done by the Government, because I would dare to say that Moldova is the leader of the Eastern Partnership program. All the projects designed for Moldova are implemented according to plan and this is hard work, an enormous work of the Government first of all. I will give the example of the visa regime. We know that the popularity of the biometric passports is increasing among the people of your country, while other countries must still work to achieve such a level. I can say the same thing about the provisional implementation of the Association Agreement from September 1.

The meeting centered on the priorities of the subsequent cooperation and the areas to which we must pay increased attention. But your Government knows better about this and is making great effort for the reforms you will commence to be implemented and to become irreversible. We could also not leave out the political situation in the region, which, even if it does not affect your directly in terms of security, is connected with other very important aspects of life. This meeting was held in a very important period, including for Moldova, because we know that elections will take place in your country in three months and we all should be more united.

“Aggravation of situation in Moldova is related rather to regularity”

- Today Moldova is going through a period that is probably much more difficult and important than many others that preceded it. For it, it’s normal to expect proportional support from its main partner – the EU. I will surely ask you a question about the way these expectations were met following this meeting. But I will first ask you what was the contribution of chance and of regularity to the worsening of the current situation in Moldova, which occurred exactly when the signed and ratified Association Agreement with the EU started to be applied? Theoretically, the people of Moldova should breathe freer as they can now travel freely and can export goods in more advantageous conditions than earlier. In reality yet, things stand differently…

- I would say that this is related rather to regularity. We, in the European Union, impose paths on no one. For example, within the Eastern Partnership program, we accept the situation as it is. This program involves different countries. For example, Belarus is a member of the Customs Union and we do not consider this a problem and maintain a dialog with it. Armenia was earlier on the same position as Moldova, but later changed it. It decided to follow another path. We continue the dialog and again make no problem of this. But not everyone thinks like this. For instance, the partners from Russia – it is rather hard to name them partners in this situation – look at this as at a geopolitical struggle. The regularity resides in this actually.

The pressure exerted on those who choose their own path or want to come closer to the EU is increased, especially the economic one, while Ukraine suffers physically as well. But we all know that freedom has its price and we also went through this. At the start of the 1990s, we faced blockades and froze in apartments in winter. There were no vehicles on the streets because there was not enough gasoline. They wanted to show us our place. “If you want to be free, here you are”. So, we should all be ready for such challenges. Is it hard? Yes, sure it is, but this is the objective reality. If somebody does not cope with these difficulties, they certainly lose. But, as far as I realize, the motivation of your Government is very advanced. It does not lose time, despite the multiple problems faced. Who follows the events more attentively, saw and does not forget the problems encountered by the coalition, how unstable the situation was and how elections were held. But you didn’t lose time and continued to do reforms and obtained a visa-free regime. By the way, this is an example showing that we can be united when there is motivation.

I wish you only good luck in continuation. But I feel that the people suffer because they lack information. They should have answers to such questions as how much the European integration costs and what is it, what do the reforms implemented within this process mean, etc? For instance, some perceive the visa-free regime as something of right, but in reality this is the result of enormous and meticulous work.

“The European Union will be unable to fight corruption instead of Moldova”

- I now ask you to tell us about the potential and real support that the EU can offer to Moldova to overcome the existing situation with minimal losses. What should the EU and Moldova do for this assistance to come as quickly as possible and have a maximal beneficial influence?

- The European Union will not be able to fight corruption instead of Moldova. It will be unable to do reforms instead of Moldova and to pay its bills. But it can help Moldova. It helped it and will continue to help it. For example, the export quotas on Moldovan fruit and vegetables were increased twice two times in a very short period of time. If need be, including because of the bans imposed by Russia, these quotas may be raised again. The assistance comes and will come in continuation, but it is very important to increase the capacities of the administrative staff as the EU assistance must be used efficiently and all the reforms must be long-term ones.

On the other hand, the bilateral relations are as important. Today I chaired a meeting together with Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman. We head the intergovernmental commission that involves representatives of other ministries and they established very good horizontal contacts: the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economy, the customs services and others. They implement concrete projects and we supported a very good dialog. We are implementing over 80 bilateral projects in different areas. Our specialists are permanently working at your Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor’s Office. I had a meeting with Prime Minister Leanca, where we agreed that more active European participation should exist at your courts of law. All these things have a long-term importance and, if we continue, there will be results.

Why does a part of society react ‘strangely’?

- In the meeting, there were set new assistance directions, but there were also formulated in a way old and known appraisals of the state  of affairs in Moldova, which is the best student and the leader in the ‘class’ of the EaP counties. Regretfully, the perception of the internal situation is not univocal. How can this discrepancy between the internal and external images of the country and its authorities be explained? What things the authorities do wrong? Why does a part of society react so ‘strangely’?  

- There is no common recipe in this case. But I repeat that information is one of the most important aspects. To my mind, the people are not sufficiently informed. They do not know the reforms and do not know what to expect from all these. They assess the situation rather intuitively, not based on the information they should possess. I think this is the main reason.

Many can become involved in this activity. We can also take part, but the responsibility for the management of this activity must be borne by the Government of Moldova. What we can do is to tell you about our experience and why we made one choice or another. We tell this when we meet, but this is not enough. Answers must exist to the questions, if they exist. There are many people who are undecided and do not have an own opinion, but they would like to have such an opinion and objective information.

High professionalism is needed in this case as I noticed a profound influence of the Russian mass media, which are far from being objective. For example, they broadcast erroneous information about the economic situation, security or events in Ukraine. The situation in this field is generally scandalous, I would say, as uninformed or not sufficiently informed persons appear in such conditions. They have no idea about the real situation in the world. In such a situation it is hard to make plans, to speak about motivation and the irreversibility of reforms, about the support for the government where it needs it. I think it is information that is a key instrument, not propaganda. For the people to have clear answers to their questions, they have the right to information. They must be simply respected.

“Diversification is the key word”

- I personally know enough Moldovans who worked in the former Baltic Republics, including Lithuania, in the Soviet period. Is the temporary repeat of such a practice at a noticeable level possible if Russia transfers its pressure on the Moldovan migrants working there, as it is expected?

- I can promise that we will seriously address the given issue. I must say that we analyze all the issues that appear following the bans imposed on Moldova. You probably know that sanctions were imposed on us too and these sanctions seriously affect our industry, but we are working in this respect. I told our Moldovan colleagues during the meeting that we work very efficiently with the business, trade and transport sectors. The more serious the crisis is, the more often we meet. I promised our colleagues from Moldova that we will transmit the entire information about the difficulties and proposals they furnished to us. Where it is possible, we will offer assistance without delay.

- Tell us about your experience in overcoming the boycotts and bans faced by Lithuania in time.

- Diversification is a key word. If somebody focuses on one market only, there is always a risk and we felt this thing repeatedly. Such signals existed until now as regards the dairy products. Russia likes our products a lot as they are of a high quality and this is not a secret. That’s why our market is very popular. But, as such signals appeared and artificial barriers were created, our businesses reoriented themselves immediately and started to look for other directions. I explained to the Moldovans that even if there were traditional directions and the rules of the game and the partners seemed to be the best, we understood that diversification is needed when we saw such a risk. I refer not to trade only, but also to new energy resources. I can congratulate Moldova on a very important even – the launch of the supply of gas from Romania namely on the Independence Day, which was a symbolic act.

“About one third of our budget comes from the EU”

- I have one more question about the experience at a much higher level, probably the highest level.  For the Moldovans to better understand why we should orientate ourselves to Europe, please tell us about the greatest stakes and the greatest expectations of Lithuania’s entry into the EU and how they were met during the ten years of membership in the EU.

- In our state, which is comparable to Moldova by size, we discussed a lot what path to follow and decided, by consensus, two follow two parallel roads: to the EU and to NATO. We regarded the European Union as a future of our economy and such a view came true. Almost one third of our budget comes from the EU. There are many structural assistance funds for our industry, for our roads, not mentioning the common market, the free movement of the labor force. On January 1, we will switch over to the euro. This will be an additional support for the economy and the people. This thing is perceived as something natural, but it represents in fact the result of enormous and methodical work. Thus, the popularity of the EU in our country is very great. The support of NATO also increased, especially because of the situation in Ukraine as regards security, and we convince ourselves that we indeed made a correct choice.  

“In order to have security guarantees, one should have mechanisms”

- Given that the security of your country is ensured because your are an EU and NATO member and given the situation in Ukraine, which was examined in Chisinau, what are the similarities and differences between the security in Ukraine and Moldova at this moment? What can Moldova do now and in the future to have more guarantees of its own security?

- In order to have security guarantees, one must have mechanisms, which must be either powerful bilateral or multilateral mechanisms, though the choice is not great. There are systems managed by Russia and there is the NATO system. You can choose what is closer to you.

As to the situation in the security area of the two states, today it is different, but in general it is alike in the whole so-called post-Soviet area given that our colleagues from Russia consider that this is their backyard where they can do what they want and everyone must ask them when they want to do something their way. This is inacceptable for us. But we yet believe that any state, either a small one as Moldova or a large one as Ukraine, has the right to take decisions independently. If they do not have this right, it must be ensured.

The situation in Ukraine worsened because the conflicts are artificially escalated there. We do not believe in the existence of these conflicts because we do not believe in the violation of the rights of the Russian-speaking population. There were never such problems. Thus, there is something else in the middle, which is geopolitical in character. Moldova also faces such a conflict. I think it’s not me who should speak about Transnistria. Nobody recognizes the territorial status of this region. It’s now quiet there, but nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. We must be watchful because the situation is indeed difficult.

“Terrorist groups are supplied by Russia”

- What is your country’s attitude to the developments in Ukraine? I ask this because the appraisals at the EU level and the level of the member states are not univocal?

- If each of the 28 member states of the EU has their own tactic, attitude and business plans, it means that more time is needed to take a particular decision. Our position is clear and consistent: we do not want aggression, but we call for continuity so that the steps taken by the EU are more visible. We are not proud of the fact that there is the so-called language of sanctions because the sanctions are imposed when a dialog is imposable. But I think they must be imposed because we should defend Ukraine in the current situation. According to our opinion, the events in Ukraine are not an internal matter, but a threat from outside because all these terrorist groups are supplied with armament by Russia, including heavy weapons – tanks, rocket installations. These are not toys that can be bought in the shop or, as they tell us, the servicemen went on leave to continue to fight. Something like this is absurd.

That’s why our position is clear and we must defend Ukraine, which, by the way, is not a member of NATO. That’s why nobody speaks about the introduction of military troops. But we must help it in other areas, such as economy and politics. We must also support its army because it is hard to fight against such an enemy. We state our viewpoint within all the organizations of which we form part. We will also state it at the NATO Summit that starts on Thursday. We have a very active attitude in the United Nations Security Council on the issue.

“The precedent is very great and very dangerous”

- Lithuania initiated two times debates on the situation in Ukraine at the United Nations Security Council. Why does it do this if its security is not threatened?

- Yes, we are a member of NATO, which is the most powerful security alliance in the history of mankind, but we cannot look at the events on our continent indifferently. By the way, we see many signs of uncertainty and consider that the world public opinion must react. There are many states in the world, including the 193 members of the UN and states on other continents, which do not know much about this conflict. But the precedent is very great and very dangerous. When the precedent is set by a country that is a permanent member of the Security Council and that has the right of veto and when without its right it’s impossible to adopt a document, this makes us be very vigilant. That’s why we consider that it is our duty, as a member of the Security Council, even if a non-permanent one, to draw attention to such situations together with other allies and associates. Although we do not have illusions that a breakthrough in this situation is possible, we consider that this is important because it is not only about Ukraine, but it is about us all – the EU, NATO and every country.

“You have a frozen conflict and this says everything”

- Given the situation in Ukraine and the use of such terms as “Russian World” and “New Russia” that would include the Transnistrian region of Moldova, won’t Moldova face a scenario similar to that in Ukraine? What can Moldova, Lithuania, the EU do to prevent it?
 
- I will not guess now what will happen as there are many scenarios. I already said that you must be vigilant as there are no reasons to stay calm. You have a frozen conflict and this says everything. It can anytime be used and, judging by the situation in Ukraine, such a possibility is not excluded. An escalation can happen any time.

But what Moldova can do is to have a consistent behavior, to avoid causing conflicts and to look for conciliation in society. First of all, society should be consolidated because internal destabilization is also a possibility of worsening the situation. There are many things that depend on Moldova. Unfortunately, not everything depends on it only. That’s why the international contacts are important. Even such solidarity visits by the 28 European ministers show to the whole world that you have friends and allies from whom you can always seek help. So, let’s go on in the same spirits and we will see how things develop.

“We were all Ukrainians when people were killed on the Maidan”

- During this visit, President Nicolae Timofti conferred an order on you. In all the countries, the orders are given for merits before the county that offers them and the awardees are usually citizens of this country. Did you feel Moldovan at least a little?

- When trouble strikes the neighbors, you always have a feeling of spiritual community. We were all Ukrainians when people were killed on the Maidan. There are such feelings, but we certainly do not work for receiving orders. We do not pursue such goals. Of course I’m very proud of this order and I’m grateful. But this is also a remembrance that more work is yet to be done. Thus, let’s work together because we have the same goals as you. We wish you success, including in implementing the European project.

Valeriu Vasilică, IPN