Translated with AI
The Moldovan Cabinet of Ministers has approved draft laws denunciating the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the CIS Charter, Interfax reported, citing the government's press service.
With this decision, Moldova initiated the process of permanently withdrawing from the CIS statutory bodies. The government noted that the decision stemmed from the fact that "the values and fundamental principles of the Commonwealth are not being respected, particularly by the Russian Federation, the state that stood at the origins of the CIS."
The explanatory note from the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that, in accordance with Article 5 of the Agreement, states "recognize and mutually respect the territorial integrity and inviolability of existing borders within the Commonwealth." According to the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this principle is not being observed by the Russian Federation.
The department also called the denunciation of the CIS Agreement “a natural and inevitable step in the context of the process of accession to the European Union.”
The government decree clarifies that the agreement's denunciation will not create a legal vacuum in Moldova's relations with CIS countries. All relations will be based on a bilateral and multilateral legal framework. The Republic of Moldova will continue to apply trade and economic agreements, including the Free Trade Agreement, in its relations with CIS member states as long as they are consistent with the country's economic interests.
The Moldovan authorities also hope that the free movement of the country's citizens within the CIS countries will not be affected by this decision, as it is regulated by existing bilateral agreements.
It is noted that the agreement's denunciation will not require the allocation of funds from the state budget. After leaving the CIS statutory bodies, the country will cease paying its share of the CIS budget, which amounts to approximately $180,000 per year.
The bills approved by the government will be submitted to parliament for final approval.
The CIS Agreement and Protocol were signed in December 1991 by 11 former Soviet republics, including Moldova, with the goal of ending the USSR and establishing the Commonwealth. The CIS Charter, approved in 1993, enshrined the Commonwealth's fundamental principles.
To date, Moldova has denounced 71 of the 283 agreements within the CIS, and approximately 60 are under consideration.
In February 2023, Moldova's Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu, announced the beginning of the process of withdrawing from several dozen CIS agreements. In May 2023, parliament passed a resolution to withdraw from the agreement on the Interstate Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Mir," and in July, the Convention on the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CIS was denounced.
In January 2024, the government reported the identification of 119 CIS agreements that were of no value to the country. As of 2024, Moldova ceased paying contributions to the CIS and its member organizations.
According to the Ministry of Finance, from 2020 to 2023, Moldova transferred almost 35 million lei, which is approximately 1.8 million dollars, in membership fees to the CIS and related organizations.
