Russia to Moldova: Don't sign the agreement with EU
In an interview for Rossiya-24, published ahead of his visit to the Moldovan capital Chişinău yesterday (2 September), Mr. Rogozin said that such a move would jeopardise the future of Transnistria, a breakaway territory unrecognised by the international community located on the border between Moldova and Ukraine.
Russians make up almost of third of Transnistria's population and Moscow has a strong military presence in the region, which the Kremlin refers to as the Pridnestrovian Republic.
Mr. Rogozin warned that the pact's signature would also have serious consequences for the free movement of Moldovan workers in Russia as well as on the export of Moldovan goods to the Russian market. He added that the agreement in question was an anteroom where Moldova may be kept rather long and twisted around the EU's little finger.
Discussions over the pact's signature will take place at the next Eastern Partnership Summit organised by the Lithuanian Presidency in Vilnius on November 28-29. ■