The Government of Moldova on March 11 voted to denounce three key CIS agreements, a step toward the country’s full withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States. The decision currently requires parliamentary support to come into force.
Prime Minister Alexander Muntianu during the meeting said that leaving the CIS aligns with what the public has long awaited, as the country aims to integrate into the European Union. He also noted that Russia violated “all norms” of the CIS’s fundamental agreements, so “from an ethical standpoint (…) we have the full right and obligation before society to break, denounce these agreements”.
«the long-awaited by society»
– Alexander Muntianu
«from an ethical standpoint (…) we have the full right and obligation before society to break, denounce these agreements»
– Alexander Muntianu
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sergiu Mihieu explained that the denounced are the CIS status agreement, signed in Minsk on January 22, 1993, the agreement on the creation of the CIS from December 8, 1991, and also its appendix from December 22, 1991. He assured that denunciation will not harm the business environment or the country’s economy.
«will not have negative consequences for the business environment and will not affect the economy of the Republic of Moldova»
– Sergiu Mihieu
Moldova will continue to remain a party to a number of CIS agreements in the trade-economic and social spheres, as long as these agreements bring concrete benefits to citizens and align with national interests. At the same time, the country has previously exited dozens of other CIS agreements in recent years and since 2022 has not participated in any meeting of a Russia-controlled organization.
The streamlined path of denunciation is now moving to the parliamentary legislative process, which means that the decisions come into force after the majority of deputies agree.