Romanian president says Moldova stays essential foreign policy priority for Romania

President of Romania Nicusor Dan, at a today’s meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Bucharest, said that Russia’s aggression directly affected Moldova and that support for the neighboring state stayed an essential foreign policy priority for Romania. He reiterated that “Romania will not be indifferent to the fate of a state where the Romanian language is spoken and felt.”

“We will not be indifferent to the fate of a state where the Romanian language is spoken and felt. We want every political or administrative decision, every high-level or technical meeting, to bring us closer to the European Union,” the Romanian head of state said.

The Cotroceni leader emphasized that Romania’s experience shows that European integration was an essential tool for economic development, modernization and countering external interference, a situation that Moldova has constantly faced since declaring its independence.

President Maia Sandu has recently said in a podcast hosted by British journalists Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell that “if there were a referendum, she would vote for reunification with Romania.”

During the discussion with the British journalists, Maia Sandu highlighted the growing difficulties faced by small states in the current geopolitical context. The head of state also referred to the threats coming from the Russian Federation, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to expand his influence over Europe. According to her, the Kremlin’s involvement in the internal affairs of the European Union is much deeper than many European citizens perceive.

“Look at what is happening around Moldova today, look at what is happening in the world. It is becoming increasingly difficult for a country like Moldova to survive, to exist as a democracy, as a sovereign state,” Maia Sandu said.

However, when asked directly whether she supports unification with Romania, Maia Sandu answered without hesitation:

“If we had a referendum, I would vote for reunification with Romania.”

She said that, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in the context of national revival movements, there had been significant support for this idea, but the absence of a referendum made it impossible to accurately assess the will of the population at that time.

“If we are to judge by the large number of people who took part in the national revival movement and by the hundreds of thousands of people who came out into the Great National Assembly Square, we can say that there would have been support for reunification with Romania,” the Moldovan president stressed.

“As President of Moldova, I understand that there is no majority supporting unification with Romania, but there is a majority supporting accession to the European Union, and we are acting in this direction. It is a much more realistic objective and helps us protect our sovereignty,” Maia Sandu said.

This is the first time since taking office that Maia Sandu has explicitly said that she would vote in favor of reunification with Romania at a referendum. At the same time, she emphasized that, for now, the European path stayed the priority and the most realistic goal for Moldova.