Expert Vladimir Socor, a senior fellow of the Jamestown Foundation, said the resumption of the relations between Chisinau and Moscow are first of all a domestic policy success of President Maia Sandu and of the PAS government. According to him, it is a domestic policy success because the Republic of Moldova is not an important foreign policy player, while the current government needs quietness on the Russian front, IPN reports.
“The current government took over the ruins of a state and undertook to rebuild the state by a long-term effort. In this difficult period, it needs quietness on the Russian front. That’s why the Republic of Moldova’s relationship with Russia is subordinated first of all to the domestic policy objectives of the President and the government. Missis Maia Sandu clarified these things during the election campaigns prior to the presidential elections and to the parliamentary elections. PAS and Missis Sandu in these election campaigns were very prudent in relation to Russia and refrained from criticizing Russia for any reason. They didn’t speak about democracy in Russia or its absence, the human rights in Russia, Russia’s aggression against other countries,” Vladimir Socor stated in an interview for RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service.
After Foreign Affairs Minister Nicu Popescu requested in Moscow to withdraw the Russian troops from the Republic of Moldova’s territory, Vladimir Socor noted that the official didn’t make any distinction between the Russian troops with a peacekeeping mission and the Russian troops that do not fulfill a peacekeeping mission. It is very good that this distinction wasn’t made as all the Russian troops should be withdrawn. Also, Nicu Popescu didn’t make any reference to an eventual special status of the Transnistrian region as a component of the political resolution and this thing should be underlined and applauded.
According to the analyst, Russia considers the presence of the Russian troops on the territory of the Republic of Moldova is compatible with the status of neutrality of the Republic of Moldova, but it is not and these are two things that exclude each other.
As the government announced, the meeting of the two ministers of foreign affairs is expected to be followed by a meeting of the Presidents of two countries, Maia Sandu and Vladimir Putin. “A visit by Missis Maia Sandu to Moscow would continue what I called the domestic policy success within the foreign policy. A visit by Missis Maia Sandu to Moscow would be again an important domestic policy success of the Republic of Moldova. This way, the current government takes the relationship with Russia out of the hands of Russophile politicians,” noted Vladimir Socor.
According to him, the Republic of Moldova’s relations with Russia should not be managed by local Russophile politicians. “Fortunately, this situation is no longer topical. The PAS government and Missis Maia Sandu dealt with this situation and it is very good that a government oriented to the West takes over the relationship with Russia. This is normal and very good. The prospects of Missis Maia Sandu’s visit to Moscow and her meeting with Vladimir Putin depend on the implementation of sector, inter-ministerial and intergovernmental agreements the coming months or the coming year. So, we should first build this sector, intergovernmental relations and they will culminate with a meeting of Missis Maia Sandu and Vladimir Putin in Moscow,” stated Vladimir Socor.
