Donations
Veridica.md
According to a former communist deputy, Moldova's intention to leave the CIS has already triggered an economic decline and if it is carried through, the country will be facing a crisis.
NEWS: Moldova is the only country in the world that is trying to please its Western partners at the expense of its own interests.
Moldova should remain in the CIS and restore ties with Russia. The national economy demands it. Even the Western countries, which are imposing lots of sanctions, keep maintaining trade relations with Russia, buying gas and oil through various schemes, political scientist Zurab Todua said.
"Firstly, Chisinau does not realize the consequences of leaving the CIS. And secondly, they just want to please their Western partners. Maybe they will achieve this goal, but only at the price of further decline in the living standards of the population. Is this reasonable? Most citizens would probably point out that this is not the right approach. Let me remind you that between 2022 and 2023, all indicators showed a continuous decline in Moldova's economic development. The standard of living has seriously declined too. I think this has been felt by almost every citizen of the country," Todua said.
The expert recommends reasonable decisions – Moldova should stay in the CIS and maintain ties with Russia. But the Moldovan leadership does not share such pragmatism and intends to permanently sever all contacts by the end of this year. According to Todua, this will lead to an even greater drop in the standard of living in Moldova.
NARRATIVE: The economy of the Republic of Moldova is dependent on the CIS, and withdrawal from the organization will cause enormous losses.
LOCAL CONTEXT/ETHOS: The Republic of Moldova is one of the founding members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, created at the end of 1991 against the background of the collapse of the former USSR and considered a lever of Moscow's influence over the former ex-Soviet states.
The Baltic countries did not join the organization and Georgia left it after the Russian invasion of 2008. Even Ukraine is no longer a de facto member of the CIS, although it has not completed the withdrawal procedures.
Over the years, Russia has imposed several restrictions on Moldovan products, especially after 2013, when Chisinau signed the Association Agreement with the EU, decisions that were seen as political, aimed at hindering the process of the country's rapprochement with the European Community.
In 2022, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine obtained the status of candidate for EU accession. After the victory of the pro-European forces in Chisinau (2020-2021), but especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the relations between Chisinau and Moscow have deteriorated. The Moldovan authorities have condemned the Russian military aggression, even if they have not openly adhered to the international sanctions imposed on Russia.
Chisinau has initiated withdrawal procedures from several agreements with CIS, which it considers irrelevant. The most relevant include the one regarding the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, but also the one on the activity of a radio and TV company, MIR. Several Russian and pro-Russian politicians have been criticizing the decision, emphasizing the economic importance for the Republic of Moldova of its membership of the CIS, even if the share of foreign trade with the member states and the country's economic dependence on the Community market has decreased by the year.
PURPOSE: To inoculate the idea that the Republic of Moldova is dependent on the CIS (Russian) market, and giving it up will have serious economic and social repercussions.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: First of all, Chisinau is not talking, at least for now, about its intention to renounce CIS membership. The authorities have mentioned several times that it is about denouncing several agreements that are not working or are irrelevant for the Republic of Moldova. The new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihai Popșoi, has also stated that there is no question of leaving the agreements with the CIS that would affect the economy or the citizens, such as the one on free trade. "For now, we are taking them one by one, starting with the irrelevant ones, which have not worked during these past 30 years. Where the interest of the Republic of Moldova is reflected and where the Republic of Moldova stands to gain, we will not press the accelerator. We are approaching the situation in such a way that the interests of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova are not affected", Popșoi stated.
Secondly, the Russian press and pro-Russian politicians in Chisinau are exaggerating the importance of the CIS states for exports and the economy of the Republic of Moldova respectively. In 11 months of the year 2023, the share of CIS slightly exceeded 7%, given that until the end of the 90s, 70% of the Moldovan goods would reach the CIS market. The Republic of Moldova turned even more towards other markets, especially the EU market, when Russia imposed bans on sensitive categories of Moldovan products in retaliation for the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with the EU.
Since 2022, when Russia reduced the volume of gas delivered to the Republic of Moldova, the country has no longer depended on Moscow - which for three decades had blackmailed it with the “Russian gas” - from an energy point of view either. Currently, Gazprom only supplies gas to the pro-Russian separatist region on the left of the Dniester, which, it is true, uses gas to produce electricity, which it sells to the right bank, and which is cheaper than on the regional markets.
The economy of the Republic of Moldova has indeed contracted, but due to the consequences of the war started by Russia in Ukraine, which has increased the inflationary pressures and affected the supply chains and transit routes to which the country's economy was strongly connected; these pressures came as the economy had already been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
There is no evidence that the West has forced the Republic of Moldova to leave the CIS. For example, the head of the EU Delegation to Chisinau, Janis Mazeiks, has previously stated that for now, the CIS membership of the Republic if Moldova is not being discussed . It is true that this topic could be approached after the launch of accession negotiations, but choosing the EU over the CIS is Chisinau's sovereign option.
GRAIN OF TRUTH: Certain categories of products, with a low economic value, such as apples or other categories of fruit, are still largely exported to the CIS market.
Check sources:
---copie-image.webp)
