Moldovan President Igor Dodon, a known opponent of the union between the Republic of Moldova and Romania, thinks that Romania doesn’t even have money for a project as expensive as the union. He made this statement in an interview with Russian news agency TASS.

When asked if the plan related to the union with Romania has been actively discussed in Moldova, Igor Dodon said that this subject is connected with the pre-election hype.

“In fact, Romania has no money for such as expensive unification project. We don’t have money either. As estimated by polls, about 80% of our citizens are against unification. In addition, there is the problem of Transnistria and Gagauzia, which in this case gets the right to self-determination. I do not think that the US and the EU will want to pay for the unification of the two countries, which threatens to destabilize the situation in the region through the emergence of new problems and new expenditures,” Dodon said, reports local Agerpres.

The TASS journalist continued to insist on the idea of unification, saying that "unionist" parties openly operate in Moldova, pleading for unification with Romania, and that Romania’s former President Traian Basescu is their honorary leader. In response, Dodon said: “This is done with the tacit consent of the ruling majority. By launching the unionists in the political field, it (the ruling majority) tries to suppress the right-wing rivals before the elections, on which Washington and Brussels are betting.”

“I have withdrawn Basescu’s Moldovan citizenship, and I have initiated amendments to the legislation banning parties that are in favor of liquidating the country,” he added.

Referring to Andrian Candu, speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, and the fact that he had apologized to the Romanian authorities for Igor Dodon’s anti-Romanian statements, the Moldovan President said that Candu “asked forgiveness from his superiors - he does not hide that he has a Romanian passport.”

“I have never been against Romania, where our friends and brothers live. But I am against the liquidation of the Moldovan state,” he added.

Soon after being elected President of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon made several statements against the union between Romania and the Republic of Moldova. For example, during his first official visit to Moscow, he received an 18th-century map of Moldova from Russian Vladimir Putin. Dodon showed the map to the press, saying that half of the current territory of Romania belongs to Moldova.

A few days later, Dodon said 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.

Earlier this week, Igor Dodon invited his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis to make an official visit to Moldova’s capital Chisinau.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com