Parliament to examine bill to denounce Agreement with Russian Federation on cultural centers' activities

The Foreign Policy Commission will propose to the Parliament plenary the denunciation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Government of the Russian Federation concerning the establishment and functioning of cultural centers.

According to the parliament's communication and public relations department, the denunciation project was developed by the Ministry of Culture, which argues that, in the context of the current geopolitical situation and the high risk of disinformation, the Agreement with the Russian Federation can be used as a tool for promoting distorted narratives, posing a risk to the information security of the Republic of Moldova. Furthermore, considering that our country does not have a cultural center on the territory of the Russian Federation, there is no fair mechanism for promoting information about the Republic of Moldova, which undermines the balance and the initial purpose of the Agreement.

The Agreement was signed in 1998 in Moscow and came into force in July 2001. Based on the document, the Russian Federation opened the Russian Cultural Center in Chisinau in 2009. Since the ratification of the Agreement, the Republic of Moldova has not established a cultural center in the Russian Federation.

The Russian Cultural Center is under the direct administration of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau and is funded by the Russian Agency Rossotrudnichestvo, an institution under the direct authority of the Russian presidency. This agency has been subject to international sanctions and is described by the EU as the “main state agency projecting the Kremlin's soft power and hybrid influence, including promoting the so-called Russkiy Mir concept.”

The denunciation of the Agreement was initiated in February 2025 at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following a severe airspace violation of the Republic of Moldova by Russian drones.