Foreign Minister of Moldova Mihail Popsoi. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Wars usually end on negotiating tables and the war in Ukraine will also end through negotiations, said the Foreign Minister of Moldova Mihail Popsoi on Monday (December 16, 2024).

Speaking to The Hindu exclusively, Mr. Popsoi called out Russia for stationing troops in the Transnistria region of Moldova and said his country has diversified its energy choices and is getting ready to join the European Union. He expressed hope that the intractable positions of Ukraine and Russia will make way for more nuanced and flexible positions and a way out from the territorial logjam will emerge soon.

“Now of course there is a lot of acrimony that have occurred and in this condition, it is difficult to sit on the same table with an adversary that has imposed so much suffering on you and your society. But all wars end at a negotiating table and I think all parties understand that,” said Mr. Popsoi, adding, “eventually it will happen.” Mr. Popsoi said the loss of human lives in the Ukrainian war front is “truly unimaginable” and argued for an end to the conflict in “not too distant future.”

In June, when Switzerland organised a peace summit for the war in Ukraine, it drew a strong reaction from Russia which refused to recognise the meeting as legitimate as Moscow reportedly perceived that the conference was favouring Ukraine.

Such failed attempts highlighted the difficulties involved in bringing the two sides to the negotiating table. “This was an initial step, and it is understandable that in the first encounter you will not have both sides sitting side by side,” said Mr. Popsoi, explaining why Russian and Ukrainian sides refused to negotiate with each other directly or through “proximate dialogue partners”.

The Minister said Moldova has reoriented its economy and energy basket and moved away from Russian energy. “The Republic of Moldova has diversified its energy supply. It has been very difficult but for us it was an existential threat,” said Mr. Popsoi explaining how Moldova has calibrated its relationship with Russia in the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“We understand that a decision to solve the conflict will be difficult, but we also understand that this is the only solution that will be acceptable. Peace is something we all need because it will have important positive ramifications for everyone and whatever leverage we can use to contribute of course they will be very welcome,” said Mr. Popsoi, urging major stakeholders in the international order to come forward to solve the conflict.

A poster of Moldova’s President Maia Sandu that reads “I invite you to vote” is placed on the side of the road in Magdacesti, Moldova, on October 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Moldovans vote on Sunday (October 20, 2024) in a Presidential election and EU referendum at a pivotal moment that could bolster the small agricultural economy’s drive to join the European Union, after allegations of Russian election meddling.

As the war in Ukraine rages to the east and turns the political and diplomatic spotlight on the former Soviet republic, it has accelerated its push to escape Moscow’s orbit and embarked on the long process of EU accession talks.

Also read | Ukrainian and Moldovan entry could destabilise EU: Russia

Polls show pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu has a comfortable lead over her 10 rivals on the ballot, though the race will go to a Nov. 3 run-off if she fails to reach the 50% threshold to win outright.

Polls show she is likely to face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor-general backed by the traditionally pro-Russian Party of Socialists, if the vote goes to a second round.

Sandu hopes to see a resounding “yes” at the referendum, which will decide whether to insert a clause into the constitution defining EU accession as a goal.

“Our fate is decided on Sunday. Everyone’s vote matters, no matter where we are,” she wrote on Facebook on Friday.

Polls show a majority support joining the 27-nation bloc, though five of the candidates have told their supporters to vote “No” or boycott, saying the timing of the referendum is a ruse to boost Sandu’s haul at the election.

The referendum needs a turnout of at least a third of the people listed on electoral rolls for it to be deemed valid, even though the lists have not been updated in years despite many people emigrating.

A weak outcome for Sandu would set the tone for next summer’s parliamentary elections, where political analysts say her PAS party will face a challenge to retain its majority.

Flanked by Romania and Ukraine, the nation of under 3 million people has alternated between pro-Western and pro-Russian courses since the 1991 Soviet breakup.

Ties with Moscow have deteriorated since Sandu came to power in December 2020. Her government has condemned Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, accused Russia of plotting her overthrow and diversified energy supply after Russia reduced gas supplies.

ALLEGED MEDDLING

The campaign has been overshadowed by election-meddling allegations.

The police have accused Ilan Shor, a fugitive tycoon who lives in Russia, of trying to pay off a network of at least 130,000 voters to vote “No” and back a specific candidate.

Shor, who was jailed in absentia for fraud and theft and is under western sanctions, has openly offered to pay Moldovans to persuade others to vote “No” and back “our candidate”. He denies wrongdoing and says the money is his.

In the run-up to the vote, state radio in Chisinau has run adverts telling people not to vote for money and asking them to report any such offers to the authorities.

On Thursday, law-enforcement agencies said they had uncovered a programme in which hundreds of people were taken to Russia to undergo training to stage riots and civil unrest.

Russia denies interfering in Moldova and has long accused its government of “Russophobia”.

Police chief Viorel Cernauteanu told Reuters on Saturday there had been a slew of voice and text messages sent from abroad in recent days, telling Moldovans to either boycott the referendum or to vote “No”.

He said the police had done everything to prevent any impact on the vote.

“There will be some kind of impact in any case, but I think it will not influence the votes overall.”

 Romanian language teacher Sorina Stoianova during a class in Vulcanesti town in Gagauzia on November 14, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Language teacher Sorina Stoianova has found herself at the forefront of Moldova’s efforts to counter Russian influence in its rebel Gagauzia region, which borders Ukraine.

Already threatened by pro-Russian separatists in breakaway Transnistria — which last month appealed to Moscow for “protection” — Moldova’s pro-EU government is trying to reach out to Gagauzians in the south with free classes in Romanian, the country’s official language.

The tiny Turkic minority, who are Orthodox Christians, briefly declared themselves independent after the fall of communism.

Although their native language is close to Turkish, most of the 1,35,000 Gagauz now speak Russian.

‘Destabilisation efforts’

And Yevgenia Gutsul, the governor of their autonomous region makes no bones about her ties to Moscow.

Last week, Ms. Gutsul travelled to Russia to ask its President Vladimir Putin for his “support” in the face of alleged “destabilisation by the Moldovan authorities”.

In such a battle for hearts and minds, Moldova believes helping people learn Romanian is key to countering Russian-language “propaganda”.

“They (the Gagauz) want to learn the language,” Ms. Stoianova said as she wrapped up the day’s lesson for about 20 adults in the town of Vulcanesti.

Some 13,000 people applied for the 5,000 places on the free courses this year, up from 6,500 last year. Gagauzia had the highest number of applicants after the capital Chisinau. One of Ms. Stoianova’s students, Ivan Gaidarji, said the classes were needed as the former Soviet republic looks to join the EU.

EU membership

Brussels agreed late last year to open membership talks with the nation of 2.6 million people that lies between EU member Romania and war-torn Ukraine.

“We must study to perfect our knowledge and be able to continue working,” the 46-year-old civil servant said. Another student wanted to be able to help her grandchildren with their homework, according to Ms. Stoianova.

Unlike the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria, Gagauzia renounced its hopes for independence in 1994 in exchange for being autonomous. But its Soviet legacy is omnipresent, with statues of Lenin and hammer and sickle emblems still dotting the region.

Moldova’s President Maia Sandu “is making real efforts to improve relations with Gagauzia, to win the hearts and minds of its people”, according Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, a Moldovan expert at the Washington-based Second Floor Strategies. Besides the language classes, the government is also upping investment in the region, including a new road to connect Chisinau with southern Moldova, including Gagauzia.

‘Preserving identity’

But he said that it would “take years and years, maybe decades, to change the beliefs of the population” and convince them that “efforts to join the EU will not destroy their identity”.

Moldovan authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of trying to destabilise the country.

An intelligence services report recently warned of “anti-Chisinau and anti-Brussels rhetoric” in the run-up to the presidential election and a referendum on EU accession later this year.

‘No to Europe’

Some 98% of Gagauz voted to join the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan customs union and said “no” to joining the EU in two local plebiscites in 2014 that were declared unconstitutional. A decade on, Chisinau hopes mentalities are changing.

“We are working with the young people,” Ms. Sandu said last year, adding the population “has been listening too much to Russian propaganda”.

“We need to better protect people from the propaganda and from the disinformation,” she added.

A file photo of France’s President Emmanuel Macron
| Photo Credit: Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron and Moldovan leader Maia Sandu will sign a defence co-operation agreement in Paris on Thursday, his office said, as tensions mount between Chisinau and pro-Russian separatists.

Their meeting in the French capital will take place after pro-Russian officials in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria last week appealed to Russia for “protection”. There is mounting concern that the territory could become a new flashpoint in Moscow’s two-year war against Ukraine.

Mr. Macron and Ms. Sandu will discuss the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in “all areas”, the Elysee Palace said on Wednesday.

“A defence cooperation agreement and a roadmap for economic cooperation will be signed during the visit,” a statement from Mr. Macron’s office said, without providing further details.

Macron’s shock move

Last week Mr. Macron triggered a shockwave in Europe by refusing to rule out the dispatch of Western ground troops to Ukraine.

The French Foreign Ministry has said that Russia is “very likely” behind destabilisation attempts in Moldova.

Moldova, which borders Ukraine and EU member Romania, is seeking to join the European Union and has obtained EU candidate status. Ms. Sandu has accused Russia of plotting to overthrow her government.

France’s efforts to reinforce ties with ex-Soviet nations are keenly watched in Moscow.

Pro-Russian officials in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria had appealed to Russia for “protection”