Moldovan president says Moldova’s withdrawal from CIS does not mean cutting bilateral relations with states still members of Commonwealth

All bilateral agreements with countries that are still members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and are beneficial to the citizens of Moldova will be preserved. President Maia Sandu has made statements to this effect. She noted that the Moldovan government was interested in deepening real bilateral cooperation, not just on paper, with these states.

President Maia Sandu commented on Moldova’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and answered MOLDPRES questions regarding future relations with member states and possible interruptions of economic, diplomatic or cultural ties.

“You know that our membership status was suspended at the moment when Russia attacked Ukraine. Now, only the legal measures are being undertaken, but this does not mean that we are cutting bilateral relations with states that are still members of the CIS,” Maia Sandu underlined.

The president explained that all bilateral agreements that are in the interest of the citizens of Moldova would be maintained.

“All measures that are in the interest of our citizens, all bilateral agreements will be preserved and, on the contrary, we are interested in how we can deepen real bilateral cooperation, not just on paper, with some states that remain members of the CIS. We have seen that, in the case of certain states, we have opened embassies; with other states, we have cooperation in various fields. With Armenia we have cooperation in areas in which we earlier have not cooperated. These steps are by no means being taken in order to undermine the benefits of our citizens,” the president said.

Moldova has launched the process of denouncing three fundamental agreements that underpin its membership in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popsoi announced on January 19.

Moldova has started the process of denouncing three fundamental agreements of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popsoi informed on last Monday. These are the CIS Statute (1993), the Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS (1991), and the Annex to this agreement (1991), documents that form the basis of the country’s membership in the CIS.

According to the official, the denunciation of these agreements will mean that Moldova will no longer be a CIS member from a legal standpoint, even though its de facto participation had already been suspended. The approval procedure is already underway and the documents are to be sent to parliament, which will take the final decision, probably by next mid‑February.

President Maia Sandu today held a news conference, during which she presented her priorities for 2026 and answered journalists’ questions.