Final preparations for a major summit of European leaders were being made in Moldova on Wednesday, a sign of the Eastern European country’s ambitions to draw closer to the West and break with its Russian-dominated past amid the war in neighboring Ukraine.
Moldova, Europe’s poorest country which is cradled by Ukraine on three sides, is putting its best foot forward for the second meeting of the European Political Community on Thursday, a gathering which will bring together around 50 leaders from 47 countries in what organizers are calling the largest international event in the country’s history.
The attendance of heavy hitters like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks to the bloc’s commitment to ensuring Russia’s ambitions to control the country do not go unchallenged. Last week, after the deployment of the EU Partnership Mission to Moldova, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Gazulin said that “the EU seeks to consolidate the pro-Western course pursued by the current leadership of Moldova set up the country for confrontation with Russia, ignoring the interests and mood of the population.”
On Monday, the head of the defense committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, Viktor Bondarev, called for strengthening Russia’s military presence in Transnistria, along with other places, citing the growing malign influence of the United States in the region. The summit is a "resolute reaffirmation of our unwavering dedication to peace, a strong condemnation of Russia’s invasion continued solidarity with Ukraine,” Sandu said.
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