CHISINAU, March 11. /TASS/. The Moldovan government has approved the withdrawal from the CIS’s core treaties - the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth, its Charter, and the Alma-Ata Declaration. This decision was made at a Cabinet of Ministers meeting, streamed on the government's website.

"The Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States, signed on December 8, 1991, in Minsk, and the Protocol to the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States, signed on December 21, 1991, are hereby denounced. The Charter of the Commonwealth of Independent States, adopted in Minsk on January 22, 1993, is hereby denounced," read the documents presented to the Cabinet of Ministers by State Secretary Sergiu Mihov.

"The process of joining the European Union inevitably requires the Republic of Moldova renounce its CIS obligations that are incompatible with its status as an EU member state," he noted. Mihov added that future interactions with CIS members will largely be based on bilateral agreements. "Furthermore, Moldova intends to maintain a number of CIS agreements, primarily in the trade, economic, and social spheres, as long as these agreements provide concrete benefits to Moldovan citizens and are in line with national interests," Mihov clarified.

Moldova's attitude toward the CIS began to change after Maia Sandu won the 2020 presidential election and proclaimed a course toward integration with the European Union and refused to participate in CIS summits. In February 2023, the government announced plans to denounce over 120 of the 282 agreements concluded within the CIS. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country has already withdrawn from 70 agreements. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Chisinau's policy duplicitous, noting that the Moldovan authorities are in no hurry to give up the socio-economic benefits of participating in the Commonwealth, while at the same time declaring their desire to leave the organization.