US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Moldovan President Maia Sandu on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The US State Department said it discussed Moldova’s efforts to advance its democratic reform agenda, strengthen its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and improve energy security.
The Secretary of State noted the assistance provided by the United States aimed at increasing the political and economic stability of Moldova and overcoming the serious consequences of the Russian war against Ukraine.
“We are deeply concerned about some plots that we have seen coming from Russia to destabilize the government, and of course we appreciate the efforts that Moldova is making to protect itself from them,” said the head of American diplomacy.
According to Blinken, Moldova “did not find itself in a ‘perfect storm’ of challenges from outside of its own volition”, which had a big impact on the situation inside the country. He noted that the Moldovan government not only has a strong reform program, but also a good economic program, of which energy is an important part.
“The United States continues to strongly support Moldova’s efforts to diversify energy supplies to ensure real sustainability, and of course prices will come down,” he said.
Sandu noted that 2022 was an “incredibly difficult” year for Moldova, but the United States has supported the country “every step.”
“You helped us compensate people so they could pay for heat, gas and electricity,” she said. – You have helped us to diversify energy resources. In the economic field, you have helped us support small and medium-sized businesses that are facing high inflation. Some of them have lost their markets due to the war in Ukraine.
Blinken and Sandu discussed how to further deepen the U.S.-Moldova partnership and work with the new Prime Minister and the Moldovan cabinet in the interests of peace, prosperity and democracy, the Department of Defense said. state in a press release.
