Moldovan government plans to denounce several CIS agreements

The Moldovan government has prepared draft laws to denounce a series of agreements within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) covering visa-free travel, ecology, taxation, and other areas.

According to the government agenda published on its official website, the drafts are scheduled for approval at a cabinet meeting on November 12, TASS reports.

The agreements under review include:

• The visa-free movement agreement for CIS citizens, signed in Bishkek on October 9, 1992.

• The cooperation agreement in chemistry and petrochemistry, signed in Moscow on September 9, 1994.

• The agreement on the use of compressed natural gas as motor fuel, signed in Minsk on May 26, 1995.

• The cooperation agreement in ecology and environmental protection, signed in Moscow on February 8, 1992.

• The agreement on principles of indirect tax collection and taxation, also signed in Moscow on February 8, 1992.

In February 2023, Moldova’s pro-Western government announced plans to denounce more than 119 of the 282 agreements concluded within the CIS. Earlier, the cabinet finalised procedures to withdraw from over fifty agreements.

Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popşoi emphasised that Chisinau does not intend to abandon agreements that are important or beneficial to the country. He noted that the visa-free regime agreement will be replaced by bilateral agreements with individual CIS countries.

Moldova’s attitude toward the CIS began to shift after Maya Sandu’s election as president in 2020, as she pursued a course of integration with the European Union and began refusing participation in CIS summits.

By Tamilla Hasanova