In the Republic of Moldova, we do not yet have a homogenous, majority position on the war in Ukraine. The authorities are yet hesitant to formulate a clear stance at foreign level and the country continues to be a CIS member alongside an aggressor state, Committee for Unity and Wellbeing member Igor Klipii, associated expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul”, stated in a public debate hosted by IPN. According to him, the fact that many Russians flee from the war and choose to come to the Republic of Moldova represents a real danger to the country’s security.
Moldova’s ex-ambassador to Lithuania noted that the Moldovan authorities should present a clear position on the Russians who flee from mobilization. Granting the status of refugee to these citizens would represent an offense to the Ukrainian refugees who are hosted by the Republic of Moldova.
“The Baltic countries, Finland have distanced themselves from these people. Imagine that these people come in a large number to the Republic of Moldova and we have two categories of refugees, women and children whose husbands and fathers die in Ukraine and a category of young people comes and has the same status of refugee. How can we put these people together? I would invite them to work at placement centers opened for Ukrainian refugees,” stated Igor Klipii.
He noted that the coming to Moldova of Russian men aged between 18 and 60, who are covered by the mobilization decision, is a dangerous precedent that can cause destabilization in society.
“They voted for this regime in the Russian Federation. They now withdraw to Georgia, which was attacked by the Russian Federation. On entry into Georgia, they sign a statement by which they admit that the Russian state is an aggressor. In our case, a decision should be taken by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova. But we must realize that the prospects of destabilization in the ex-Soviet space are rather realistic. It will be hard to supervise these Russians when they enter the Republic of Moldova. There is armament in the Transnistrian region. It’s good that they do not have a direct way to the Republic of Moldova but the attitude to these Russians will be shaped depending on our attitude to the war. Regrettably, we do not yet have a clear, majority opinion about this war in the Republic of Moldova. We have important politically represented sections of the population that challenge the aggressive character of the war in Ukraine,” noted Igor Klipii.
Moreover, he said the Moldovan authorities’ evasive rhetoric over Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine only divides society.
“We, as society, should unite around a national idea and should react homogenously and coherently. The foreign policy hesitations, the ambiguous narrative about neutrality – either we arm ourselves or not, remain in the CIS with an aggressor state or not – should be assumed. When we have a coherent message, it will be easier to adopt an attitude to the Russians who flee from mobilization and who pose a potential risk,” stated Igor Klipii.
The public debate entitled “About the Moldovan state’s and society’s attitude to persons who flee from mobilization in Russia, with and without Moldovan nationality” was the 263rd installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
