Reaction from Moscow after Maia Sandu's statements regarding the union with Romania: “Destructive for Moldova's statehood”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moldovan President Maia Sandu's plans to hold a referendum on reunification with Romania would be destructive to Moldova's statehood, Reuters reports.

Lavrov also stated that Russia can only regret the fact that the Republic of Moldova has started the process of denouncing three fundamental agreements that form the basis of its membership in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The claims were made at the annual conference where Sergei Lavrov summarizes the year that has ended from the perspective of Russian diplomacy.

The reaction comes after President Maia Sandu said last week, for the British podcast “The Rest Is Politics”, that “if a referendum were held, I would vote for union with Romania”.

“You see what is happening around. It is difficult for a small country like Moldova to survive, under the pressure of Russia, as a democratic and sovereign country”, said Maia Sandu, who admitted that at the moment there is no majority for the union with Romania. “However, there is a majority that supports integration into the European Union, and this is the goal we are pursuing”, Maia Sandu also said.

It was the first time that the leader from Chisinau gave an exact answer on this topic. “It is the realistic solution that can help us survive as a democracy,” she argued.

A few days later, Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu also said that he too would vote “for” if asked in a referendum about union with Romania.