President-elect Maia Sandu said she will work based on the interests of the Moldovan citizens and will always promote an external policy based on the interests of the Moldovans in the relations with Russia and other countries. As a President, she has a very serious agenda.
It goes to the unblocking of exports and ensuring of better conditions for compatriots who work in Russia. There are a lot of Moldovans who asked for social insurance because they worked or work in Russia and are interested in having pensions. “There are many questions on which we should work and I’m ready to meet and discuss with those who can help find solutions to these issues,” said Maia Sandu, noting she will pursue an active foreign policy and will work for Moldova to have good relations both with Russia and with the European Union.
Asked by a foreign journalist how she will combine the openness to the EU and the relations with Russia, including in the context of the recent statements that Crimea is a Ukrainian territory, Maia Sandu said Moldova respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and expects that other countries will respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Moldova. “We are on our path to EU integration. This is what the majority of people say. We don’t only speak about it. We want to show it in practice, which means to govern the country by EU standards. We want to bring EU standards to Moldova. We want to have high salaries, like in the EU, to have high pensions. We want to have job opportunities, high-quality in healthcare and education. We count on EU support in making this transformation. At the same time, we will work to have good relations with Russia. Of course, this depends on both sides. Both sides have to want this. I do want this. I did promise this to the people and I will do my best to achieve this result,” she stated.
Maia Sandu said it’s good both for the EU and for Russia to have Moldova as a stable and predictable country, not as a country which is in a gray area where there is corruption, there are many crises and many other bad things.
According to Maia Sandu, the majority of the Moldovan people want closer relations with the EU. This is what the opinion polls show. At the same time, the majority of Moldovan people want to have good relations with Russia. Moldova should continue on its EU path. This means implementng internal reforms. This means better governance, fighting corruption, strengthening state institutions and making them more resilient or actually building a more resilient state. This will bring Moldova closer to the EU.
“Building these institutions, strengthening the democratic processes will help us get EU support because we do need EU support. At the same time, this is going to make Moldova a more stable and predictable country and I believe a more stable and predictable country is better both for EU and for Russia. We will be trying to have good relations with Russia. We do have an agenda. We have many people who work there and we have to work with the Russian authorities to ensure good, working conditions for our people there. We do want to be able to export to Russia and not to see any disagreement between the free trade regime Moldova has with the EU and the free trade agreement Moldova has with the CIS countries. We hope to convince the Russian authorities to eliminate the impediments to the Moldovan exports to Russia. And of course, Russia is an important part of the discussion when we talk about finding a solution to the Transnistrian conflict,” she stated.
As to the relations with Belarus, Maia Sandu said she will come with an official position after her inauguration.