Moldovan authorities betray people’s interests by severing ties with Russia — politician

CHISINAU, April 21. /TASS/. A Moldovan opposition activist has slammed the ruling party’s plans to sever ties with Russia as an undisguised betrayal and social genocide of the Moldovan people. "The termination of the treaty [on friendship and cooperation between Moldova and Russia of 2001] will be a final slap in the face for those who have relatives or jobs in Russia. Moreover, in terms of international relations, the termination of a friendship treaty is a step toward war. Do Sandu (Moldovan President Maia Sandu - TASS) and Co realize how dangerous such actions are? Sooner or later, they will have to take responsibility for their decisions and their consequences," Marina Tauber, Executive Committee Secretary of Moldova's Victory opposition bloc, wrote on her Telegram channel, commenting on the statement by Moldovan parliament speaker and leader of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity Igor Grosu. Tauber slammed the ruling party’s policy toward severing relations with the CIS and Russia as "a naked betrayal and a death verdict for the country’s interests, a real social genocide." She also recalled that Moldova continues to buy Russian gas, but is now doing this via intermediaries and has to pay significantly higher costs. "Do they think about hundreds of thousands of our nationals in Russia and those whose relatives live and work there? For them, this will mean new problems with travelling, higher costs for documents, and the risk of losing their established financial ties. Bank transfers will be at risk, and issues regarding employment history, retirement benefits and the recognition of diplomas will be left hanging in the air. Everything people have dedicated their lives to will be thrown away for the sake of the ambitions of a handful of officials," Tauber stressed. Relations between Moldova and Russia began worsening after Maia Sandu and her Party of Action and Solidarity came to power in 2021. In 2022, bilateral relations became strained after Moscow accused Chisinau of unfriendly actions and in turn was accused of meddling in Moldova’s domestic affairs. Back then, Moldova demanded that several employees of the Russian embassy be expelled from the country. Russia’s response followed. Moscow called on Chisinau to respect the interests of its own citizens and not to hinder the development of ties with Russia. Russia pledged that it wants its relations with Moldova to be friendly and regrets that Moldova is being used by the West as an anti-Russian tool.