Moldova’s decision to fully withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS, the grouping of former Soviet states, marks a historic turning point and ends the country’s long-standing ‘dual foreign policy’ of balancing relations with both the West and Russia, analysts believe.
On January 19, Moldova’s Foreign Minister, Mihai Popsoi, announced that the government had formally begun the process of withdrawing from the core agreements supporting Moldova’s CIS membership.
“We are referring to the CIS Statute signed in Minsk on January 22, 1993, the Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS from December 8, 1991, as well as its annex adopted on December 22, 1991,” Popsoi said. This will mean that Moldova is no longer a CIS member under the law.
Moldova has already suspended participation in CIS activities. This latest step will remove any remaining legal ambiguity.