CHISINAU, April 15. /TASS/. Moldova will officially withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in April 2027, and Minsk has already been notified, Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi told journalists.

TASS has compiled the key facts about the decision.

Withdrawal from CIS

On April 8, 2026, Moldova’s decision to withdraw from the core agreements of the CIS entered into force, including the agreement establishing the CIS of December 8, 1991, the protocol of December 21, 1991, and the organization’s charter of January 22, 1993.

After President Maia Sandu promulgated the Parliament’s decisions on denouncing agreements on Moldova’s participation in the CIS, a notification was sent to the secretariat in Minsk on April 8. Moldova has received confirmation of its receipt.

CIS composition

The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional intergovernmental organization formed on December 8, 1991.

Currently, it brings together 11 post-Soviet countries (Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine). Two states have effectively suspended their work and cooperation within the CIS — Moldova and Ukraine. Turkmenistan has the status of an associate member of the Commonwealth, which implies participation only in certain types of the organization’s activities.

Moldova’s withdrawal initiatives and reduced cooperation

Following the election of Maia Sandu as president in 2020 and the formation of a pro-European government, Moldova effectively suspended its participation in key CIS bodies. Sandu herself has not attended any CIS summits since taking office.

On March 17, 2022, addressing parliament, Sandu said Moldova’s only path lies in joining the European Union, not in CIS integration or Eurasian cooperation. Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu proposed holding a "political discussion" on whether Moldova should remain in the CIS.

In December 2022, Sandu said Moldova was not yet ready to withdraw from all CIS agreements but would consider which ones could be abandoned. In 2023, then Foreign Minister Nicolae Popescu announced the start of the denunciation of a number of CIS agreements; as of early 2023, Moldova was party to 282 such agreements.

In recent years, Moldova has not sent representatives to meetings of CIS or Eurasian Economic Union bodies, declined co-chairmanship in the CIS in 2023 and withdrew from implementing the "CIS Cultural Capitals" program. On May 20, 2023, Sandu said Moldova would no longer host CIS summits.

In February 2023, Moldova recalled its permanent representative to the secretariat of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. In July 2023, it denounced the 1995 convention on the assembly and notified the CIS Executive Committee in August; the convention ceased to apply to Moldova on February 8, 2024.

On July 11, 2024, Grosu said on Moldova-1 TV that the authorities would continue their course toward leaving the CIS, although this was not required by the European Union. He acknowledged that not all agreements could be terminated due to potential economic damage.

Withdrawal from agreements, suspension of contributions

Since 2023, Moldova has withdrawn from a number of CIS-related agreements across various areas.

On May 11, 2023, the parliament passed a law ending participation in the Mir interstate TV and radio company, which had previously lost its broadcasting license in Moldova. On July 24, 2024, the government said it would close the company’s office in Chisinau.

On November 2, 2023, the Finance Ministry prepared amendments under which Moldova would stop paying CIS membership contributions from 2024, citing the process of withdrawal and sanctions against Russian banks.

The government of Moldova has denounced the agreement on the modernization of civil aviation of the CIS member states, said Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu.

The decision will be submitted to the parliament for information and will come into force on the day of its publication in the Official journal of the government, after which the Foreign Ministry will notify the CIS Executive Committee of the adopted decision.

On January 24, 2024, a government spokesperson said Moldova planned to denounce more than 120 of the 282 CIS agreements. On January 29, Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi clarified that Chisinau does not intend to denounce agreements important for the country.

On February 29, 2024, parliament denounced three defense and security agreements, including those on arms supply and peacekeeping mechanisms within the CIS.

On December 12, 2025, parliament denounced several CIS agreements, including a 1992 visa-free travel deal. According to Popsoi, the visa-free regime will remain in place with most countries under bilateral agreements.

As of March 2026, Moldova had terminated more than 70 of its 282 CIS agreements across areas including healthcare, energy, taxation, information policy, environmental protection and research.

Moldova intends to denounce another 60 agreements with the CIS, as the government of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity considers them useless for the country, Popsoi stated at the end of March.

Statements on CIS withdrawal

On January 19, 2026, Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi said Moldova had launched the process of denouncing key CIS agreements, including the charter and founding documents. According to him, this would mean Moldova would legally cease to be a CIS member, although de facto participation had already been suspended.

On January 20, 2026, the Newsmaker outlet reported, citing the Foreign Ministry, that the withdrawal process would take more than a year after approval by the government and parliament.

On January 22, Sandu said at a press conference that Moldova would maintain bilateral relations with CIS member states after leaving the organization.

Withdrawal from core CIS agreements

On March 11, 2026, Moldova’s government approved withdrawal from the CIS founding agreements. The decisions were submitted to parliament, which is controlled by the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity.

On April 2, 2026, parliament approved the withdrawal, and on April 6 the decision was signed into law by Sandu.

Moldova intends to remain party to certain agreements related to economic cooperation, including the CIS free trade agreement, "as long as they serve the country’s economic interests." CIS Executive Secretary Sergey Lebedev said 208 agreements remain in force for Moldova, including 104 in the economic sphere, but noted that withdrawal from the charter would limit the full application of some provisions.

Russia’s reaction

On January 20, 2026, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moldova’s decision was not unexpected, as Chisinau had not actively participated in the CIS for a long time.

On December 14, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moldova’s withdrawal would not affect integration processes in the post-Soviet space, noting that its presence in the CIS had "little value."