The leaders of France, Germany and Poland are due in Moldova on Wednesday in what they describe as a show of support for the divided nation bordering Ukraine, a day before campaigning starts for next month's tense parliamentary election amid government claims of Russian interference.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will meet Moldova's President Maia Sandu to celebrate the country's 34th independence day as she pushes for EU membership.
"This is a show of support by European leaders for Moldova as Russia ramps up its interference activities ahead of the high-stakes elections," the Moldovan presidency said in a statement to AFP.
Sandu and her European allies have repeatedly accused Moscow of attempts to destabilise the former Soviet republic that lies between war-torn Ukraine and EU and NATO member Romania.
A vocal critic of Russia, in particular since the start of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sandu has been steering Moldova through official EU accession talks that started in June 2024.
'Intimidation'
The three EU leaders will give a press statement alongside Sandu on Wednesday afternoon, before a dinner.
They will then give speeches during the official independence day celebrations held on Chisinau's Independence Square, with a concert concluding the evening.
Macron, Merz and Tusk want to reaffirm their "support for Moldova's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity", a French presidential adviser told journalists.
They also want to support Moldova's "European trajectory".
In Moldova's Transnistria region, residents survive without heating in middle of winter
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"We cannot ignore the consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which directly affects Moldova," he said.
"Moldova is threatened by Russia," he added, referring to Moscow's "interference and meddling" and its "playbook" of "intimidation", "sovereignty obstructions" and "exploitation of separatism".
In the east of the country is the pro-Moscow separatist region of Transnistria, where Russian troops are stationed.
'Symbolic message'
"The visit is really a strong sign of support, and it is a symbolic message to Russia that top European countries care and follow what happens here," political analyst Valeriu Pasha of the Chisinau-based think tank Watchdog told AFP.
He added it was the first visit of the so-called Weimar Triangle leaders together in Moldova.
Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity now holds 61 seats in the 101-member assembly. But according to an opinion poll published last week, it is likely to win no more than 41 seats in next month's poll.
Among the 21 groups registered by the Election Commission are two blocs with broad support. The Patriotic Bloc, including Socialists and Communists who want closer ties with Russia, is projected to win 36 seats, while the Alternative Bloc, accused by the government of concealing a pro-Kremlin bias, is projected to win 13 seats.
One of the leaders of Alternative, former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo, wrote on Telegram on Tuesday that the West would soon lose interest in Moldova once the war in neighbouring Ukraine has ended.
Sandu won re-election last year over Stoianoglo by a 10-point margin, but had to rely heavily on the votes of Moldovans living and working outside the country. A referendum endorsing her EU membership campaign cleared 50 percent by a narrow margin.
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Sandu has warned of attempts by Russia to influence the poll, last week saying that Moscow intended to funnel some $100 million into the country in cryptocurrency alone to help pro-Russian political forces.
An openly pro-Russian bloc overseen by a fugitive Moldovan business magnate has been banned from taking part in the poll.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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