President of Moldova Maia Sandu gave a long interview to Russian journalist Yuri Dudu. The conversation lasted about two hours.
During the interview, Sandu spoke in Russian.
Yuri Dud for the first time acted as a political journalist, he talked with Maia Sandu about what happened in Moldova on the night of February 24, 2022, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine, about censorship and blocking of the media in Moldova, about the relations between official Chisinau and Gagauzia and European integration.
The video was published on Yuri Dud’s YouTube channel.
About the war in Ukraine
“I woke up at 4 am [24 февраля], we heard explosions, I read that a war had started,” Sandu said in an interview with Yuri Dudu. – I started calling all my colleagues. Already at 6 o’clock I was in my office, at 6:30 we had our first meeting, we began to work on our plans.”
Early in the morning of February 24, 2022, residents of the eastern regions of Moldova heard the sounds of explosions. Within a few hours, a state of emergency was declared in the country and the airspace was closed, and multi-kilometer queues lined up at border points – Moldova had to accept largest among all countries the number of refugees relative to the size of its own population.
Sandu noted that a million Ukrainian refugees passed through the country in the first days of the war; currently about 100 thousand Ukrainians remain in Moldova.
“People opened their hearts, their homes,” says Maia Sandu. “Because the state would not be able to help so many people, despite the fact that part of the government worked to help them.”
Chisinau condemned the Russian invasion, but accepted a full package of sanctions against Russia couldn’t – due to the instability of the economy.
Speaking about a possible Russian invasion of Moldova, Sandu assured that the authorities “will do everything to prevent this from happening.” “According to the Constitution, we must do everything to maintain peace and ensure the safety of our citizens,” the head of state noted. “That’s why we have an army, a defense sector. But we really hope that this war will end soon and we will be able to direct these investments into the economy and other industries.”
About Transnistria and warehouses in Kolbasna
The situation in Transnistria, a region in the east of the country not controlled by Chisinau, has become tense since the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine. Local authorities announced attempts of sabotage and terrorist attacks on the part of Kyiv. The Kyiv authorities blamed Russia for the provocations. There were fears that the Russian army, under the pretext of protecting the Russian-speaking population, would occupy Transnistria and take advantage of the region’s border with Ukraine.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Transnistria, but Moscow ignored these demands. And in February 2024, deputies of all levels of the unrecognized republic asked for help from Russia. The authors of the appeal claim that they are experiencing economic pressure from Chisinau.
Yuri Dud asked Maia Sandu whether, during a full-scale war, there really were proposals from Kyiv to help Chisinau “close the issue” with Transnistria, where a small number of Russian “peacekeepers” are still located.
“Officially – I tell you with full responsibility – there was no such proposal. And unofficially too. We have always said and will continue to say that for us, a solution to the Transnistrian conflict is possible only through peaceful means,” the president assured.
Sandu also noted that there was no talk about Ukraine gaining access to ammunition depots in Kolbasna. “Because Ukraine respects our territorial integrity,” she said.
In the Transnistrian village of Kolbasna, not far from the border with Ukraine, there is the largest ammunition depot in Eastern Europe: weapons were brought there for storage after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the GDR, Czechoslovakia and other countries of the former socialist camp. Recently, a version has been circulating that Ukraine, given the shortage of weapons, is extremely interested in gaining access to these warehouses.
About censorship and blocking of media
Immediately after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Information and Security Service of Moldova blocked dozens of media outlets in the country. One of the first was the Sputnik Moldova website. The reason for the blocking was that the publication could spread “misinformation affecting national security.” And in October 2023, six TV channels were blocked – Orizont TV, Prime, Canal 2, Canal 3, Publika TV and ITV Moldova. In the spring of 2024, Canal 5, controlled by the fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, was closed.
The decision to block the ISS was explained by the fact that these resources disseminate information “emanating from the government authorities of a state that is in a military conflict and recognized as an aggressor state.”
The head of the ISS of Moldova, Alexander Mustiata, then stated: “The editorial policy of these TV channels is focused on a campaign of disinformation in the interests of individuals or legal entities included in the EU and US sanctions lists, including the Shor criminal group.”
The country’s President Maia Sandu, in an interview with Dudi, rejected accusations of censorship that are increasingly being heard against the Moldovan authorities. “This is not the media, these are media of disinformation,” she says about the media affiliated with Shor. “The ratings are an objective assessment, the experts correctly assessed what is happening here [с прессой]”.
The President of Moldova is referring to the data of Reporters Without Borders, which compiles the annual media freedom rating: in 2023, Moldova rose to 28th position on this list. (After the interview was recorded, fresh data came out, according to which Moldova takes 31st place in the ranking, minus four positions – NV.)
Sandu believes that “if the media does not comply with the law, of course, measures must be taken.” According to her, the money that is used to finance these media outlets enters the country illegally. For example, at the end of April, police seized about a million dollars from 150 Moldovan citizens at the Chisinau airport. Security officials called the money part of a scheme for “illegal financing of political parties.”
The president admitted that there are still “no good solutions” in the fight against propaganda. “We are still looking for these solutions,” she asserts. “We cannot simply close our eyes and say that propaganda is freedom of speech. You yourself know how many billions Russia invests in this propaganda.”
According to Sandu, criticism of the Moldovan authorities appears in the media every day, “sometimes in essence, sometimes not in essence,” and “this is normal.” “The question is not whether they criticize or not criticize. It’s normal when they criticize. It’s not normal when it’s illegal, when the money that was stolen from this people is used to misinform these people,” the president notes.
On relations with the Bashkan of Gagauzia
In the spring of 2023, elections for a bashkan (head of the autonomy) were held in Gagauzia, an autonomous territorial entity in the south of Moldova with a population of about 150 thousand people. They were won by a representative of the declared unconstitutional Shor party, Evgenia Gutsul.
On July 19, she officially took the oath of Bashkan. The ceremony took place with numerous violations, without the participation of Hutsul’s predecessor in office, Irina Vlah, and the leadership of Moldova.
Almost a year has passed since then, but President Maia Sandu, who was supposed to appoint Hutsul as a member of the government of Moldova by decree, did not do so. Moreover, the country’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office completed investigation and brought the case against the Bashkan of Gagauzia to court. She is accused of systematically importing money from Russia into Moldova from Russia, which was used to finance the party, while working as a secretary in the Shor party. The anti-corruption prosecutor’s office also accuses Hutsul of coordinating the activities of some Shor offices.
“She does not represent the Gagauz people, she represents a corrupt group, and I do not believe that such people can be [во главе автономии]. This is against the interests of our country, and this is a risk for our state security,” Maia Sandu said in an interview with Dudiu, commenting on the relations between Chisinau and Comrat.
“I cannot agree that she was honestly elected,” Sandu noted, confirming that she wants to wait for the completion of the investigation led by the prosecutor’s office and the conclusion of the Constitutional Court regarding the legality of the delay in the appointment of Hutsul to the government.
Maia Sandu also added that she does not consider her actions to be a violation of the law. “I cannot appoint to the government a person who represents a criminal, corrupt group… The law does not say when she should be appointed. Let’s see what the court says,” said the President of Moldova.
About European integration of Moldova
European integration, which Chisinau declared as its official course, has become another reason for criticism from its opponents. The Moldovan authorities are ready to sacrifice sovereignty for the sake of the illusion of joining the European Union, says the Governor of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul.
“In one’s right mind, it is impossible to agree that someone from the outside determines what rules to live by and what to strive for,” she wrote in her Telegram channel. “But, unfortunately, this is exactly what happens in our country. <...> Under the dictates of Brussels, traditions and values that are alien to our culture are strengthening in the republic.”
In December 2023, at the EU summit, Chisinau and Kyiv received agreement to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union, but a specific date has not yet been officially set. Several European diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity reported the Moldovan service of Radio Liberty/Europa Libera that an event to launch negotiations on accession to the EU of Moldova and Ukraine is planned for the last week of June.
Answering the question whether she is in favor of unification with Romania, Maia Sandu said that she considers Moldova’s accession to the EU more correct and realistic. Then, she noted, Moldova will have no borders either with Romania or with other EU countries.
According to her, the majority of Moldovan citizens think the same, and the authorities are working to ensure that the country becomes part of the European Union.
“We will have a referendum on European integration. I promised this to the people, and I will do what I promised,” Sandu noted.
She said she applied for a Romanian passport 13-15 years ago out of a sense of “self-awareness.”
“A million of our citizens have a Romanian passport. This also means a European passport. That is, the EU already has a million citizens in Moldova. This could make our path to the EU even shorter. <...> My grandparents had Romanian passports. And it was important for me to get a Romanian passport. It’s self-awareness,” Sandhu said.
About corruption and your salary
In 2023, Moldova moved to 76th place in the ranking of 180 countries for perceptions of corruption, sharing it with countries such as Bahrain, Cuba, Hungary and China. Ukraine, neighboring Moldova, took 104th place, Romania – 63rd, Russia – 141st.
“For all the pessimists and those who spread the negative narrative that the fight against corruption and the justice system in the Republic of Moldova have failed, you are wrong,” wrote Head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Moldova Veronica Dragalin. – In 2023, our country has risen another 15 places in the world ranking for perceptions of corruption. Compared to 2019, we have risen by 44 places.”
According to Maia Sandu, she and the ruling party PAS (Action and Solidarity) began the fight against corruption “back in 2015.” And she herself “never planned to become a politician.”
“When my colleagues and I saw that almost the entire political class [в Молдове] was corrupt, and corruption from politics was transformed into corruption in the state, we decided that we needed to try to build normal political parties to show that there can be honest politicians,” says the president.
Now, according to Sandu, her salary is about 850 euros per month. Savings made during her collaboration with the World Bank help her compensate for her modest income. Then the future president, according to her confessions, received about 10 thousand dollars a month.
