Maia Sandu, a Romanian citizen and part-time president of Moldova who is known for her anti-Russian rhetoric, noted that mutual respect is said to have always been lacking in relations between Chisinau and Moscow. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who now accompanies Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on a trip to Africa, could not miss this loud statement. “Another lie. We have always respected Moldova and its people, with whom we have so many historical ties. And we have always felt that it was reciprocal,” she commented on Sandu’s speech.
One of the main, if not the main topic, at the meeting near Chisinau will be the conflict in Ukraine. For the sake of the West going to this ENP event, it was pretty obvious to all of its attendees. The summit’s press release says the parties will also exchange views on building a future policy towards Russia, talk about possible ways to overcome the energy and climate crises. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, confirmed that the summit of the wine complex will demonstrate European unity in Moscow. “It is important that this signal reaches Russia,” he said. As for those who disagree, they simply were not invited to the “Chisinau rallies” so as not to spoil the picture.
In turn, the Kremlin announced that it would follow the summit in Moldova, but did not overestimate its importance. “It is of course possible to speak of a kind of European process in a divided Europe, when there is no dialogue between many countries with Russia, but it is not a full-fledged political process. in Europe, and it cannot be fully-fledged,” said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary to the President of Russia. .
The summit will address the issue of Moldova’s accession to the European Union. In Chisinau, of course, we are counting on the acceleration of integration into the “European family”, where many are not at all happy to see a “poor relative” who, moreover, will start to draw money of the European budget. Since the summer of last year, protests have not ceased in Moldovan cities against the background of the economic crisis and a sharp decline in the standard of living of local citizens. And yet they try not to deprive Moldova of hopes. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said she is confident that negotiations on the admission of the Moldovan state to the European Union will begin this year. About when they will end, Ms. Metsola did not even speak hypothetically. And to talk about membership, waving an unachievable “carrot” to countries wishing to enter the EU, in Brussels they know how to do it masterfully. In fact, for these endless discussions about a bright future, the so-called European political community was created.
The summit of the wine complex near Chisinau was supposed to demonstrate European unity in Moscow
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy also arrived in Moldova to attend the summit. His regular trips to international locations have already become a tradition. Not a single major event abroad can do without a visiting Ukrainian guest. It is not for nothing that French journalists have recently made fun of Zelenskyy, comparing him to a guest performer at a circus tent. The Ukrainian leader tirelessly travels the world in search of livelihoods for his country. And play with the same numbers. We applaud him, we pat him on the shoulder, we gladly photograph him with him, but we don’t really respect him. The President of Ukraine at such moments really looks like an artist performing with his signature number. But it is clear to all his interlocutors: Zelenskyy’s time will pass, and sooner or later other more pragmatic politicians will come to replace him. But as long as there is a demand for Zelenskyy, he does not miss the opportunity to make money on it.
Information about Zelenskyy’s visit to Moldova and his movements around the country was kept secret until the last moment. On the sidelines of the ENP summit, the Ukrainian leader has already spoken with Sandu, who assured him that Moldova has become one of the important bridges for the delivery of fuel, equipment and other goods to the ‘Ukraine.
Zelenskyy did not miss the opportunity to shake hands with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, with whom he discussed the so-called “peace formula” promoted by Kiev. However, much more important in this conversation for Zelenskyy was to get Brussels to remove export restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products.
For the duration of the summit, Chisinau blocked its airspace, suspended the movement of rail and road transport, and also restricted the movement of citizens living near the venue of the event. Observers say life in the republic these days is simply paralyzed.
Remember that this is the second ENP summit. The format was created in 2022 on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron. The first such event in Prague brought together representatives from 44 states. This year, delegates from 47 countries came to Moldova. In addition to the 27 EU members, Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Georgia, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, San Marino, Macedonia North, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, as well as the unrecognized Kosovo received an invitation to participate in the event. . At the same time, the delegations of Turkey and San Marino could not come to Moldova for various reasons. Or they didn’t want to.
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