SATURDAY, 9 JULY 2022, 13:08

Janis Mazeiks, the head of the European Union delegation to Moldova, has said that Brussels does not require Chisinau to join the sanctions against Russia, but "will be glad to see" development in this direction.

"European Pravda" reported, citing NewsMaker, that Mazeiks said this on the TV channel Primul in Moldova.

The EU ambassador stressed that this is not about "anti-Russian sanctions", but about "sanctions against Russia due to Russian aggression and its attack on Ukraine".  He noted that the EU has not put forward an explicit requirement to join these sanctions.

"The EU does not require this. We understand that Moldova has its own specific situation, and it has not always been possible to join in with certain measures," Mazeiks said.

However, he added that for the EU, "how Moldova develops in this direction will also be important."

"Candidate countries are expected to gradually bring their foreign policy closer to EU policy. There is no explicit requirement, but we will be happy to see Moldova being able to join certain sanctions," Mazeiks said.

At the end of June, after Moldova received candidate status for EU membership, Igor Grosu, the speaker of the Moldovan parliament, announced that Moldova intended to join EU sanctions against Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, then threatened to cut off Moldova’s gas and used "Russians" in Transnistria as blackmail.

Later Nicu Popescu, Moldova’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, noted that the European Union does not require Moldova to join the sanctions against Russia.

Watch the video explanation on European Pravda’s YouTube channel - Is Moldova on our side or Russia’s in the war? Sober explanations, insights, and important details.