Russian Cultural Center set to cease activities in Chisinau in next summer; Moldovan foreign affairs minister says decision taken, the other side must comply

The Russian Cultural Center is set to cease its activities in Chisinau in late next June or the beginning of July 2026, when the current agreement's provisions expire. Moldova has officially notified the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs  about the center's closure. Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister Mihai Popsoi has made statements to this effect in an exclusive interview with MOLDPRES.

According to the official, the notification ‘’does not necessarily require a response from the Russian side.’’ However, there is a clear decision on the part of Moldova which ‘’cannot be appealed or contested.’’

‘’The agreement from 1998 stipulates its non-renewal and notification at least six months before the expiration of the term, a fact that results in nullity and the cessation of the document's legal effects. Unfortunately, those who negotiated and signed the agreement did not foresee other ways to unilaterally denounce the document. The only means of denunciation is its non-renewal. This is why, the process has taken so long. Some citizens were understandably puzzled as to why this process is taking so long, once a political decision was made in response to Russia's unfriendly actions towards Moldova. More than once, drones or even explosive drones have passed through Moldova's airspace, and some have even fallen,’’ Mihai Popsoi said.

The deputy PM emphasized that the decision to close the center had been taken following an incident where an explosive drone fell about one kilometer from people's homes in the south of the country.

‘’These diplomatic decisions to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity are perfectly in line with the measures provided by international law. After making this decision, all necessary legal and diplomatic steps were followed. We respect our state's signature, even if we have some reservations about the content of this agreement. Nevertheless, once it was concluded and we assumed the legal effects, we had to go through all the stages, in strict compliance with international law,’’ Mihai Popsoi remarked.

The minister pointed out that the decision regarding the center's activity is made and, under international law, ‘’the other side must comply with these provisions.’’

‘’The Russian side has already been notified, and in next summer, most likely at the end of June or the beginning of July, when the current agreement's provisions expire, it will not be renewed, which will mean the end of the document's legal effects. After this term expires, the center will no longer have a legal basis to operate in Moldova. The notification was recently sent. There is still time until summer. We will certainly receive some response, but the decision is made, and according to international law, the other party must comply with these provisions, in strict accordance with what the parties have agreed to,’’ Mihai Popsoi added.

The denunciation draft was developed by the Ministry of Culture, arguing that, in the context of the current geopolitical situation and the high risk of misinformation, the agreement with Russia can be used as a tool for promoting distorted narratives, posing a risk to the informational security of Moldova.

Additionally, given that the country does not have a cultural center on Russian territory, there is no equitable mechanism for promoting information about Moldova, undermining the balance and original purpose of the agreement.

The document was signed in 1998, in Moscow, and came into force in July 2001. Based on this, Russia opened the Russian Cultural Center in Chisinau in 2009. It is funded by the Russian agency 'Rossotrudnichestvo', an institution directly subordinate to the Russian presidency and has been subjected to international sanctions, being deemed by the EU as ‘’the main state agency projecting Kremlin's soft power and its hybrid influence, including promoting the so-called 'Russkiy Mir' concept.'