Moldova's Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu met with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington for a strategic dialogue—the parties discussed the 30 years of diplomatic relations between the countries and Moldova’s support for Ukraine in the ongoing war.
Blinken assured Moldova of US support saying, “We in the United States strongly support Moldova’s independence, its sovereignty, its territorial integrity, and we continue to work very closely together in practical support of all of those things.”
A new home for refugees
The ongoing war on Ukraine forced over 5 million to leave their homes and flee to the Eastern European countries.
Moldova, a tiny country between Ukraine and Romania, has become home to about 100,00 refugees from war-torn Ukraine.
These refugees contribute up to 3.5% of the Moldovan population.
Popescu said that the growing refugee population affects “every single little piece of the functioning of Moldova's state and society.”
Moldova, Ukraine’s ‘most fragile’ neighbor
With a war next door, Moldova has condemned Russia’s course of action against Ukraine. The country has banned the use of pro-Russian war symbols, but no formal sanctions were imposed.
The nation relies on the Kremlin for the entire country’s gas supply.
It's worth noting that the Russian troops have occupied Transnistria, a state internationally recognized as Moldovan territory, leaving the country in a fragile state.
Moldova to join the EU
Though Moldova embraced democracy and trended westward post the fall of the Soviet Union, the country joining the EU and NATO was always in question.
The situation changed a week after Russia's invasion; Moldova and Ukraine have formally applied to join the EU.
"It's not going to be quick, it's not going to be easy. We don't want to do shortcuts, and we'll do our homework," Popescu said about joining the EU.
The story was reported by Axios.
