Republic of Moldova President Igor Dodon has once again expressed his position against his country's unification with Romania, saying in an interview for Russia Today that “any party in Moldova calling to be united with Romania should be abolished by law.” He added that Romania is willing to absorb the Republic of Moldova at any moment and that's why it's important for his country to have a partnership with Russia, to be able to fend off such an attempt.

When asked about his opinion about the fact that Romania gives citizenship to Moldovans, and that both countries have a very strong movement for unification, Dodon answered that most of Moldovans who received Romanian citizenship did it to solve material problems, such as going to Europe without a visa, and not because they wanted to be Romanians.

“The majority of our citizens stand for the preservation of Moldova’s statehood,” he added.

Referring to Romania’s position about the unification with Moldova, Igor Dodon said that the country is a friend of Moldova, but the fact that they want to undermine the Republic of Moldova’s statehood is a problem.

“We will adopt a tough and critical stance on that issue. I believe any party in Moldova calling for the union with Romania should be abolished by law. Our constitution stipulates that such actions should be regarded as anti-constitutional.”

During the interview, Dodon also said that he doesn’t think that Moldova will be part of the European Union. “Brussels and everybody else in Europe admits that this is not going to happen in the following 10 to 15 years. And what will happen to the EU itself in 5 or 6 years? We see a number of politicians from various countries claiming that they are going to quit the union. That is why it is absolutely clear that we will not join the European Union.”

He added that, if Moldova would decide to become part of the EU, the country would lose the opportunity of dialogue with Transnistria, and Gagauzia would most likely not follow the Republic of Moldova into the EU, as 98% of its population voted in favor of the Eurasian Customs Union at the referendum back in 2014. Thus, Moldova is “destined to find common ground with Russia.”

“We will not succeed in uniting the country if we do not build a strategic partnership with Russia. If we do not unite the nation, then we are bound to face the risk of losing our statehood – we have Romania right next door, willing to absorb us at any moment.”

Igor Dodon had his first official visit to Moscow last week, during which Russian President Vladimir Putin offered him an 18th-century map of Moldova. Dodon showed the map to the press, saying that half of the current territory of Romania belongs to Moldova.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Igor Dodon on Facebook)