CHISINAU, February 8. /TASS/. The Moldovan government’s decision to turn away from the Commonwealth of Independent States runs counter to the interests of Moldovan citizens, Russian Ambassador to Chisinau Oleg Vasnetsov said in an interview with TASS.

"I am convinced that the course of the Moldovan authorities to curtail it [relations with the CIS] is contrary to the interests of the Moldovan people," he said, noting that many politicians and citizens of the republic hold the same opinion.

The diplomat emphasized that during Russia’s Chairmanship of the CIS, it is ready to cooperate closely with other Member States. "This cooperation is important for us," he recalled.

On November 17 of last year, the Chairman of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, announced that starting on February 8, 2024, Moldova would cease to be a member of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. According to her, this will not hurt the organization, but the republic itself would suffer.

The Russian Federation will chair the CIS in 2024 - the presidency was passed to it by Kyrgyzstan. The program of its work includes about 150 events, with the keynote being the next summit, which is scheduled to be held on October 8 in Moscow.

The CIS now includes 11 countries: Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan (with the status of an associate member), Uzbekistan and Ukraine. At the same time, as Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, Moldova and Ukraine have long been only nominal participants and are not involved in the work of the association. At the end of December, an informal CIS summit was held in St. Petersburg, at which the Russian leader pointed to the steady growth in trade turnover between the Member States and said that Russia, during its Chairmanship, intends to pay close attention to deepening economic ties within the framework of the association and, in particular, expanding settlements in national currencies. "We are convinced that this will make it possible to more reliably ensure the economic and financial sovereignty of our states," Putin said.

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