The President of Moldova Maia Sandu pleaded for increased support for Ukraine, a bulwark for her country
"as long as Kiev resists"
, judging that it was necessary to
"stop
Vladimir Putin
"
for the security of Europe, in a interview with Le
Monde
published Friday.
“Today we feel safe thanks to the resistance of the Ukrainians, but Europe - not only Europe, but also all countries that value respect for their borders - should understand that Vladimir Putin must be stopped .
If we want peace, we must help Ukraine by all means
,” the head of state of this country located between Romania and Ukraine told the French daily.
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“I think many
(Europeans)
now understand that Vladimir Putin will not stop.
We must (...) find a way to be more effective in supporting Ukraine
,” she insists, on the sidelines of an official visit to Paris.
Maia Sandu welcomed the defense agreement signed Thursday with France,
“a first step to help strengthen the security of Moldova and the region”
.
This agreement notably provides for the opening in the coming months of a permanent defense mission in Chisinau.
However, it does not include security guarantees, according to a Moldovan diplomatic source.
Moldova is the target of Russian
“interference”
which
“increases as”
this country progresses
“towards integration into Europe”
, points out the president of this country of 2.6 million inhabitants.
Chisinau particularly fears a surge of disinformation in the run-up to the presidential vote and the referendum on EU membership scheduled for the fall, while the 27 decided in December to open official accession negotiations with the Moldova.
Also read: Moldova: “Russia knows full well that it does not have the means to annex Transnistria”
“Increased pressure”
According to experts, Russia, unhappy to see Chisinau turn towards the EU, is using the Moldovan separatist region of Transdniestria in particular to put pressure on Chisinau.
At the end of February, pro-Russian separatists from Transdniestria asked Russia for
“protective measures”
in the face of the
“increased pressure”
which, according to them, Moldova exerts.
However,
“the situation in Transdniestria is stable”
, maintains the Moldovan president.
“This “appeal”
(from the separatists)
came at a time when the Tiraspol regime requested, at the same time, Russia, the European Union, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations money, but not military support
.
She also assures that a
“considerable number of people”
from this region have
“applied for a Moldovan passport”
since the start of the war.
“Today, 90% of Transdniestrians have this passport.
This means that they understand the importance of peace and that they want to link their future to the Republic of Moldova
,” she believes.
“We also saw many young men moving to Chisinau to avoid being conscripted into the Russian army
,” she says.