Moldova is the European country, after Poland, that has made the greatest effort to receive Ukrainian refugees. Long neglected on the periphery of the European Union (EU), this impoverished country of nearly 3 million people is today the subject of unprecedented attention from Brussels and Washington. The official visit of Foreign Minister Nico Popescu to the United States, which ended on Tuesday, April 19, was proof of this. in an interview in GlobalismThe minister, an exemplary French speaker, explains how his country wants to anchor itself in a European perspective.
You were welcomed by the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, on April 18. How do you judge Western support for Moldova?
The Russian aggression against Ukraine accelerates and crystallizes the positions of all those concerned with security in Europe. To keep Moldova stable and committed to reform, our dialogue with both Washington and the European Union has intensified. Our goal is EU membership. With the United States, we have a process of interaction structured around three working groups: economy and energy, political and security dialogue, and finally anti-corruption and the rule of law.
How do you manage the wave of Ukrainian refugees?
Nearly 400,000 passed through our territory. Today the number of refugees in Moldova is nearly 100,000, or 3.5% of the population. Imagine that at the French level, it’s as if 2 million or 3 million people arrived in the space of a few weeks. It is unprecedented. Half of the refugees are minors. Can you imagine the effort this would be for our education and health systems? More than 90% of them were welcomed by families, volunteers or relatives into apartments or houses. So the welcome was gracious. We do not have tent camps.
How do you deal with Russian disinformation campaigns that portray refugees as criminals?
On social networks, anti-refugee rhetoric is increasing. But Moldova has been the target of disinformation for years. Despite this, the voters made a firm choice by electing them as president [proeuropéenne et réformiste] Maya Sandow. Before the war, Russian television was quite present. These channels are still operating, but since the beginning of the war, Russian-language news broadcasts and discussions have been suspended.
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