The Chisinau Parliament decided to extend the state of emergency by 60 days, a decision taken at the request of the Government of the Republic of Moldova. The Prime Minister from Chisinau, Dorin Recean, invoked the imminent danger to the security of the country due to the war in Ukraine. The opposition harshly criticized this decision, calling for early parliamentary and presidential elections.

State of emergency

55 deputies voted for the extension of the state of emergency after the prime minister from Chisinau, Dorin Recean, came to the Parliament, presenting the arguments in this regard. “The war is near us, especially lately, when the civilian infrastructure in Odessa is being bombed. The Russian Federation is attacking our neighbors, killing them and making it difficult for them to live. This, indisputably, also affects us by disrupting logistics chains, breaking transport chains and the hybrid war that Russia is waging against the Republic of Moldova”, said the Prime Minister. According to the officials from Chisinau, the risks to the security of the Republic of Moldova are high, including “because of the attacks in the immediate vicinity of the NATO border, in the Odesa and Reni regions, close to the border of the Republic of Moldova. Also, the country will be affected after the suspension of the agreement on the export of grain through the Black Sea basin, imposed by Russia on July 17, which will lead to the increase of grain transit through the country. The authorities also say that the country remains exposed to hybrid warfare, through the promotion of false information, military manipulation and inter-ethnic violence. At the same time, the war in Ukraine could prevent the supply of natural gas and electricity to the Republic of Moldova”.

The Republic of Moldova has been in a state of emergency since February 24, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, it has been extended several times. According to the act, during the state of emergency, CSE members can issue binding and enforceable provisions for the heads of central and local public administration authorities, economic agents, public institutions, but also for citizens of the Republic of Moldova and foreigners in the country.

The opposition accuses

The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, is dealing with the “witch hunt” in Gagauzia and is taking all possible measures to destabilize the situation in the region, said the oligarch Ilan Șor, convicted in the Republic of Moldova for participating in the famous theft of the billion, launched accusations to the head of state Maia Sandu whom he called a “dictator” who is destabilizing the region. Ilan Şor said that Sandu is trying to show himself in a favorable light in front of the “western masters” before the upcoming elections, through unfriendly actions against UTA Gagauzia. “The elections are approaching and the dictator Sandu must prove that she is not staying in Chisinau and receiving money from the West for nothing. Driven by paranoia, she is organizing a “witch hunt,” said the fugitive politician, who is on the US and EU sanctions list.

For his part, Vlad Batrîncea, the vice-president of the Parliament, the president of the BCS faction, criticized the decision of the Recean government. He pointed out that the opposition expressed against the extension of the state of emergency, a situation in which investments do not come, it is not an economic program. “The state of emergency is convenient only for those who want to make purchases secretly, to manage public money non-transparently, outside of legal and parliamentary procedures.” At the end of the briefing, Vlad Batrîncea reiterated that the country needs early parliamentary elections. According to the deputy, BCS initiated a motion of censure against the Recean government, which is the shortest way to these elections. Vlad Batrîncea urged all the opposition forces in the country, including the extra-parliamentary parties, to consolidate around this idea, to organize free and fair early parliamentary elections, so that people capable of managing public affairs in the interest of the citizens come to power.

Secret Service War The Intelligence and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova (SIS) announced that, after starting the necessary legal procedures, it denounced the Partnership Agreement with the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). Official notifications have been sent to the authorities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the Service submitted strict measures, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, to denounce the cooperation agreement with the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation (SVR), according to a press release from the SIS sent to the media. “Starting with February 24, 2022, with the invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the cooperation relations of the Intelligence and Security Service with the special services of the Russian Federation were stopped, so that the agreements given have no practical applicability, being in fact non-functional. The inconsistency and dissonance of the provisions of these agreements with the national interest and security of the Republic of Moldova argues for the denunciation process initiated by the Intelligence and Security Service”, argued the SIS representatives. Moreover, the provisions of these agreements, signed in 1994, including the additional protocols, represented legal clauses invoked by the Russian Federation to argue the presence of representatives of the Russian special services in the region to the left of the Dniester in the Republic of Moldova. Thus, with the denunciation of these agreements, such “arguments” can no longer be advanced by the Russian Federation, SIS mentions. “The Intelligence and Security Service does not maintain external partnership relations with similar structures of other states, which clearly defy the legislation and act to the detriment of national security, carry out subversive activities against the Republic of Moldova, including undermining the functionality of the state’s democratic institutions, destabilization of the socio-political, economic situation and jeopardizing the territorial integrity of the country”, the SIS representatives concluded.

Harsh statements

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Integration of the Republic of Moldova (MAEIE) qualified on Thursday as “false and slanderous” the latest statements of the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zaharova, according to which a rapprochement of Chisinau with NATO would mean the loss of sovereignty by the Republic Moldova, according to the daily Ziarul Naţional from Chişinău. In a statement, the MAEIE emphasizes that it is Russia that does not respect the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and illegally maintains military troops on its territory in Transnistria. “The relations of the Republic of Moldova with various international organizations, including NATO, represent the sovereign and independent decision of our republic. Regarding the Republic of Moldova-NATO partnership, it already has a history of 30 years, being oriented towards the development of the capacities to counter the new complex challenges and ensuring the security of citizens and our state”, the press release states. At the same time, “we mention that the neutrality of the Republic of Moldova does not mean self-isolation. The authorities develop partnerships with those organizations and states that support and contribute to the maintenance of peace and security in our republic”, states the diplomacy from Chisinau. MAEIE recalls that, at the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 11, the North Atlantic Alliance reiterated its support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence and respect for the neutrality status of the Republic of Moldova. NATO states also declared that they support the sovereign right of the Republic of Moldova to choose its development model, its foreign policy course and to decide its future without outside interference. “In the same vein, we suggest the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia to read in full article 11 of the Constitution of our country, including paragraph (2) which specifies that the Republic of Moldova does not allow the deployment of military troops of other states on its territory, or namely, the Russian Federation directly violates this article”, concludes the MAEIE statement. The Empire Strikes Back The authorities of the Republic of Moldova should be aware that the country’s approach to NATO leads to a total loss of sovereignty, the spokeswoman of the Russian MFA, Maria Zaharova, said on Thursday, quoted by the official Russian news agency TASS. “Let’s hope that the Moldovan political class is still aware of the fact that (the Republic of Moldova)’s approach to NATO not only does not bring more security, but on the contrary leads to a total loss of sovereignty”, Zaharova declared in a press conference . Russia has repeatedly expressed its position towards the “provocative policy of continuing the expansion of NATO, especially the attraction of the Republic of Moldova into the Alliance, despite its status of neutrality enshrined in its Constitution”, she stated. “We observe a consistent increase in the interaction between pro-Western forces in Chisinau and Euro-Atlantic structures contrary to national interests and without taking into account the opinions of their own citizens”, she added, stating that over 60% of Moldovan citizens oppose their country’s membership in NATO. “Obviously, the Moldovan people, traditionally friendly to Russia, unlike their current leaders, are fully aware of the aggressive nature of the North Atlantic bloc and understand that the situation in neighboring Ukraine was largely caused by irresponsible attempts at expansion of the Alliance”, emphasized Zaharova. “It is unlikely that the population of the Republic of Moldova would want it to become – under the pretext of implementing various partnership formats – another testing ground for geopolitical confrontations”, concluded the spokeswoman of the Russian MFA. Photo: wikipedia Western support The Republic of Moldova received consistent financial support from international organizations. In the most recent example, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved an additional financing, worth 165 million euros, for the Republic of Moldova to buy natural gas, the president of the EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso, recently stated in an interview for the Infotag press agency. The EBRD official recalled that last year the financial institution offered the Republic of Moldova a revolving loan of 300 million euros for gas purchases, which helped Moldova to purchase gas from alternative sources in Europe for the first time, instead of taking at the Russian group Gazprom. “In 2023 we will continue to increase funding for Moldova. We have approved an additional financing worth 165 million euros for the purchase of gas… The funds, totaling 465 million euros, will allow the government to buy 75% of the gas the country needs”, said Odile Renaud – Basso.

Gas deliveries frequently caused tensions between the Republic of Moldova and Russia until the end of last year, as until now Chisinau depended almost exclusively on Gazprom for gas imports.