CHISINAU, May 15. /TASS/. Former Molvodan President Igor Dodon has slammed Parliamentary President Igor Grosu’s announcement of Chisinau’s intention to withdraw from the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as an unwise step driven by a desire to score points with the current Moldovan government’s Western sponsors.

"This is another unwise step by the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity led by Grosu. It stems from the desire to please their Western sponsors and disregards the opinion of the majority of our country’s people, who, according to polls, don’t want to cut ties with the CIS. Just announcing a withdrawal from the Commonwealth and its institutions strictly for PR purposes won’t be a problem, which is exactly what the government is doing. But, the reality is that pulling out of the CIS, to which our country is linked by hundreds of treaties and agreements, will prove to be not such a simple procedure," Dodon pointed out.

He emphasized that even if the government and parliament made such a decision, it would not mean a de facto and de jure withdrawal from the CIS. The former Moldovan president noted that this type of decision is made at the level of all CIS member state leaders only 12 months after they have received relevant written notification. "I won’t even begin to go into the problems that will arise for the citizens of our country, who have already suffered from the devastating economic crisis created by the current government," Dodon added, pointing to significant rises in gas, electricity and food prices, and inflation rates in excess of 30%, reaching the highest level in the past 20 years.

"A breakup with the CIS will create more problems for our country’s citizens due to the denunciation of the agreements signed within the CIS, including those pertaining to visa waivers, customs duties and taxes, as well as other important documents. I hope it doesn’t come to that because there will definitely be a change in government in our country as polls now show that the favorability rating of the incumbent president and her party is relentlessly dropping," Dodon noted.

Chisinau’s stance toward the CIS began to shift radically after Maia Sandu won the 2020 presidential election. To date, she has not attended a single CIS summit. This year, Moldova sharpened its critical rhetoric aimed at the CIS, with Foreign Minister Nicolae Popescu launching the denunciation of a number of agreements signed under the intergovernmental organization’s aegis. However, the Moldovan opposition has been strongly critical of the Sandu administration’s approach.