Moldova will not join Western sanctions against Russia – Economy and business
CHISINAU, February 28. /TASS/. Moldova will not join the EU and US sanctions against Russia. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Nikolai Popescu in an interview with the TV channel “TV-8“on Tuesday.
“Decisions on sanctions against Russia are serious decisions for states with more than high economies. <…> Since 2014, Moldova has decided not to join the EU and US sanctions against Russia. We continue to adhere to this position,” Popescu said. According to him, this was taken for economic reasons, since the Moldovan economy is too dependent on ties with Russia, including in the energy sector. The head of Moldovan diplomacy stressed that “Chisinau supports with Moscow dialogue at a technical level, discussing issues of assistance that Moldovan citizens may not be able to return to their homeland due to the situation in Ukraine.”
Earlier, the head of the Moldovan-Russian Business Union, former President of Moldova Igor Dodon, does not support the support of the West, as this will deal a blow to the severe crisis experienced in the Moldovan economy. He cited statistics, according to which last year Russia ranked second among Moldova’s trading partners – the republic’s exports to the Russian Federation increased by 27%, and imports – by 70%. The former head of Moldova suggested urgently working out the possibility of connecting to the function of transmitting financial messages created by the Central Bank of Russia in the conditions of Western meetings. In addition, he offers Ukraine to redirect exports bypassing through Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, as well as through the Moldovan port of Giurgiulesti on the Danube.
On February 24, the Moldovan Parliament declared a state of emergency for 60 days due to the situation in Ukraine. On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an emergency military operation in Ukraine in response to an appeal to the Republic of Donbass for help. He stressed that Moscow’s plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian conquests, pursuing the goal of demilitarization and denatification of the country. As stated in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, nothing threatens the civilian population. In response, Western countries have imposed regular anti-Russian sanctions.