Moldova–Russia relations

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Moldova–Russia relations

Moldova	Russia

Moldova–Russia relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation.

History[]

Following its victory in the Russo-Turkish War 1806–1812, the Russian empire annexed Bessarabia from the Ottoman Empire. This historical region, which was originally part of the Principality of Moldavia, constitutes most of the territory of modern Moldova.

In the early 20th century, Bessarabia briefly gained independence from Russia as the Moldavian Democratic Republic. It entered a union with the Kingdom of Romania, with whom it shares the same language and ethnicity in 1918 and was ceded by Romania to the Soviet Union in 1940. This led to the establishment of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.

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  Flag of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1954–1991)

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  Flag of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (1952–1990)

Moldavian SSR (renamed to SSR Moldova) then declared its independence from the USSR on August 27, 1991. A conflict between the Government of Moldova and a secessionist entity on its territory escalated into a war in 1992, which was stopped by direct intervention of the Russian 14th Guards Army and resulted in the emergence of the internationally unrecognized entity of Transnistria. After the ceasefire, two separate groups of Russian military forces remained in Moldova: a small peacekeeping regiment, which is part of the Joint Control Commission, and the 14th Army, which was tasked with guarding a large Soviet ammunition depot in Cobasna on Transnistria-controlled territory. Evacuation of this depot was eventually stalled and Russian military presence in Moldova continues to this day, against the will of the Moldovan Government.

Relations between Moldova and Russia deteriorated in November 2003 over a Russian proposal for the solution of the Transnistria conflict, which Moldovan authorities refused to accept. In 2006, a diplomatic conflict resulted in the Russian ban of Moldovan wines, damaging the wine industry of Moldova considerably, as Russia remained the largest importer of Moldovan wines by far.

Nicolae Timofti speaking with Vladimir Putin during a summit in Minsk (2014, Belarus).

Zinaida Greceanîi with Prime Minister Putin in June 2008.

In the 10 years that followed, the Moldovan parliament became dominated by pro-European parties who sought to move to country away from Russian influence and to move closer to Romania and the European Union (EU). In December 2016, Igor Dodon, the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, was elected to the presidency with a pro-Russian platform, and a promise to identify with the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc. Since becoming president, he has visited the Russian Federation numerous times on state and working visits, having visited the country over a dozen times by January 2019. He was however defeated in the 2020 Moldovan presidential election by Maia Sandu, who became the new President of Moldova.

During the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Russia helped Moldova with its vaccination campaign with 71,000 Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine units twice, once on 24 April 2021 and another on 30 April 2021.^[1][2] Vaccination with this vaccine officially started in Moldova on 4 May 2021.^[3] However, these deliveries provoked many controversies, first because former Moldovan President Dodon was accused with inflating the number of vaccine units Russia gave to Moldova, later because Russia gave vaccine doses to Transnistria without the intermediation of the Moldovan authorities as had been done previously with donations from other countries,^[4] and lastly because it was claimed Russia had given Moldova vaccine units that were supposed to go to Slovakia but which the country rejected later.^[5]

Transnistria[]

Transnistria, a de facto independent region of Moldova, is supported by Russia, although Russia has not recognised Transnistria.

State Visits[]

In March 2017, Prime Minister Pavel Filip ordered a ban of official visits by government officials to Russia. This ban was lifted by Prime Minister Maia Sandu in June 2019.^[6]

Visits of Russian Leaders to Moldova[]

• President Vladimir Putin (June 2000)
• Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (November 2008)^[7]
• President Dmitry Medvedev (October 2009)

President Dodon floated a potential visit by Putin in August 2019, however it did not come into fruition^[8][9]

Visits of Moldovan Leaders to Russia[]

Play media

A joint news conference between Vladimir Putin and Igor Dodon in Moscow, January 2017.

• President Petru Lucinschi (July 2000)^[10]
• President Vladimir Voronin (September 2001)^[11]
• President Vladimir Voronin (June 2009)^[12]
• President Igor Dodon (January 2017)^[13]
• President Igor Dodon (May 2017)^[14]
• President Igor Dodon (May 2020)

See also[]

• Dissolution of the Soviet Union
• Greater Russia
• Moldova–European Union relations
• Romania–Russia relations

References[]