Moldova deprived Gagauzia of honorary status in the CIS
The Chisinau authorities refused the status of the cultural capital of the CIS in 2023 for the capital of Gagauzia (an autonomy within Moldova), the city of Comrat.
This was announced by the CIS Executive Committee, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The Government of Moldova sent a memorandum to the Executive Committee stating that the country cannot take responsibility for holding events provided for by the status of cultural capital. In this regard, St. Petersburg was declared the cultural capital of the CIS.
The decision to grant Comrat the status of cultural capital was made by the Council of Heads of State of the CIS in 2021.
In 2023, the state budget of Moldova does not provide funds for paying membership fees or any events within the CIS. Chisinau also refused to finance the Moldovan representation of the CIS TV channel “Mir,” whose broadcasting is prohibited in the country. Moldova is not participating in today’s informal CIS summit, as in previous events since the spring of this year.
At the same time, the country's president, Maia Sandu, has not yet made any statements about leaving the organization. On the contrary, she stated that the authorities do not plan to sever relations with the CIS, since we are talking about hundreds of agreements, including bilateral ones. According to her, the situation will not be affected by Moldova’s recently received candidate status for accession to the EU.
But judging by the statements of Sandu’s subordinates, things are moving towards leaving the CIS.
“There are no benefits from the republic being part of the CIS. Economically and politically, Moldova does not belong to the Commonwealth space, trade ties with member countries are limited or blocked, and in the event of withdrawal, Chisinau could potentially establish ties with the former post-Soviet republics through other channels,” said Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu.
The recently appointed Minister of Economy of Moldova, Dumitru Alaiba, does not see any point in further staying in the CIS.
“I think that in 2022 there will not be even 5% of total trade with Russia. We deserve much more than the post-Soviet poverty that still surrounds us. The time has come to finally part with her,” Alaiba wrote on the American social network.
This position of the authorities causes criticism in Moldova.
“We need strategic relations with Russia, our sales market is there, energy resources are there. We should not join anti-Russian sanctions. And we absolutely should not leave the CIS. What does joining the sanctions give us and the fact that the authorities shout at every step that they are against Russia? Doesn't give anything. Where should people sell their apples? Nowhere. Farmers will simply go bankrupt,” says ex-President of Moldova Igor Dodon.
The ex-mayor general of Chisinau, Serafim Urechean, agrees with him.
“Relying only on the EU is wrong. When will we be accepted there? It’s good if in 40 years. Here’s an example from Turkey, how long are they waiting? Our government officials, when they talk about something, do not think about the consequences at all. Just recently they stated that they do not need Russian gas. So what now? Let's bow down and kneel before Transnistria. They themselves created favorable conditions for Russia. Recently I was in my native land in the north of Moldova.
There, many of my friends began to cut down apple orchards because there was nowhere to put the harvest. In the south they cannot sell the grapes grown properly, but this year there was an excellent harvest. So, who needs empty talk about whether we need the Commonwealth of Independent States? Such chatter will bring nothing but harm,” Urechean said.
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