Russian ambassador criticises Moldova’s partial exit from CIS

Russia does not understand how Moldova can remain part of selected Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) agreements while withdrawing from the main framework, Oleg Ozerov, Russian Ambassador to Moldova has stated at the “Russia–Moldova” session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

He illustrated his point with an analogy, comparing the situation to a bear leaving the forest, picking a raspberry bush, eating the berries, and discarding the bush, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“That is to say, the potential is very large. But if the process of scaling back these relations continues, as is happening now, then of course we will not achieve anything good,” Ozerov said.

He added that a legal analysis is currently being conducted on the full range of agreements in which Moldova still participates, noting that some key ones support the country’s economy, including free trade arrangements that facilitate fertilizer supplies.

He also argued that Moldova’s economic ties with the European Union are stagnating, claiming that exports to the EU are not increasing.

“The leadership of the Republic of Moldova has decided to withdraw from the CIS. And at the same time, there are statements that we will remain in some separate agreements — those that are beneficial to us, in particular on fertilisers. Frankly speaking, we do not understand how it is possible to remain in some separate agreements while exiting the main ones,” he noted.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov