The relations between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine follow an upward trend, but simultaneously face many challenges. Governmental officials meet regularly, but a meeting of the Heads of State does not seem to become a reality soon. The interaction at political and economic levels also develops, even if there is the tendency to act in a manner that is aimed exclusively at obtaining immediate benefits. In the long run, the partners haven’t yet managed to identify the elements of a bilateral cooperation strategy with mutually advantageous effects.
The current state and the prospects of the relations between Kyiv and Chisinau were analyzed within two mirror studies carried out simultaneously as part of the project “Moldova – Ukraine: Competition, Cooperation and Independence”. The project was implemented by the Ukraine Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation together with the Foreign Policy Council „Ukrainian Prism” in April – November 2017.
In a news conference at IPN, Angela Gramada, of the Experts for Security and Global Affairs Association (Moldova), which carried out the study from the perspective of Moldova, said the research includes an analysis of a wide range of problems and recommendations for the authorities. “First of all, we referred to the political dialogue and factors that influence it positively and negatively. In negative sense, we refer to the attitude of the President of the Republic of Moldova to the conflict in Ukraine and his position on the annexation of Crimea that ultimately lead to Moldova’s isolation at foreign level and this thing is continuously mentioned by the Ukrainian authorities in public speeches,” stated the expert.
Angela Gramada stated there is yet a continuous dialogue between the Cabinets of Moldova and Ukraine. In 2017, the Premiers of the two states paid mutual visits, the last being that made by the Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodimir Groisman to Chisinau. These visits gave a new impetus to the bilateral political relations. The existence in Chisinau of two-faced messages and positions on the conflict in Ukraine, which are somehow incorrect, creates particular animosities at the highest level between the two states.
The study notes that if the Head of State cannot provide discursive guarantees for an efficient political dialogue, other public institutions that can avoid any form of regional isolation should be involved. In this connection, the action for the Republic of Moldova should be aimed at ensuring the continuity of the bilateral dialogue with Kyiv and the argument here is pragmatic – Ukraine is one of the most important commercial partners of the Republic of Moldova.
According to the study, the political dialogue can cover issues that refer to cooperation possibilities for ensuring good governance in the two states. None of the two partners managed to cope with the challenges related to corruption fighting, independence of the legal system and transparency in the decision-making process. Surely, the interaction in this regard is difficult in the absence of visible results in Chisinau and Kyiv. However, the cooperation could create new preconditions for diminishing the negative impact of the corruption schemes at regional level. Such a pro-active approach to fighting corruption can contribute to a better image of the two states.
