Moldovan president says those who blackmail Moldova cannot be its friends

Chisinau, 19 December /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova wants good relations with all states, both from the East and from the West; yet, it cannot accept the friendship of countries which blackmail and interfere with the internal affairs of the state. ‘’Those who blackmail us cannot be our friends.’’ ’’We want the Moldovans to decide for Moldova and not the money of the Kremlin.’’ ‘’We presently regard Russia as state aggressor.’’ These were the answers of President Maia Sandu to questions put by journalists on Moldova’s relations with Russia.      

Moldova wants its territorial integrity and sovereignty be observed and Russia must withdraw its troops from the country’s territory, the president said. ‘’We want to be left alone. We want our territorial integrity and sovereignty to be observed. This means the withdrawal of the Russian troops from the territory of Moldova. We want the Moldovans to decide for Moldova and not the Kremlin’s money and this would mean that they should not interference with our domestic affairs. I do not think that this is an extraordinary request and, certainly, we presently regard Russia as a state aggressor and we see this, unfortunately, every day,’’ the Moldovan president said.       

Moldova, according to the head of state, can have good relations with the countries which respect its citizens. ‘’We have good relations both with the East and the West, with all those who respect our country. Those who send dirty money, who try to destabilize our country all day long, those who blackmail us cannot be our friends,’’ the president noted.  

Moldova condemned Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and expressed the support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people from the first day of the unleashing of the war. 

Presently, Moldova has on its territory an internal conflict fueled by Russia, which continues to maintain its troops in the Transnistrian region, despite multiple decisions and calls launched on diverse international platforms on the withdrawal of the Russian army from Moldova.