Lead
Moldova cannot join the European Union until it resolves the Transnistrian issue, according to Igor Dodon, the leader of Moldova's largest opposition party, the Party of Socialists, and the country's former president. Dodon made the remarks in an interview with TASS, urging the reintegration of the breakaway region as a national priority.
"Until we resolve the Transnistrian issue and reintegrate the country, there can be no talk about joining the European Union," Dodon said. "The reintegration of the country must become a national priority, and to achieve this, we must put an end to economic and energy blackmail and begin a dialogue with Tiraspol."
Coverage comparison
Dodon's statements, as reported by TASS, span two interviews and a separate commentary, touching on EU membership prospects, the role of the Transnistrian conflict, and allegations of Western and Ukrainian attempts to open a new front against Russia. In one interview, Dodon claimed that in April, the West and Ukraine attempted to open a new front against Russia in Transnistria. In another, he expressed doubt that Moldova would join the EU in the coming years.
Key Claims
Transnistria as a barrier to EU membership
In his remarks on June 25, Dodon said that resolving the Transnistrian issue is a precondition for EU membership. He emphasized that EU accession talks must be conducted with Moldova's interests in mind, firmly defending its economic interests while preserving the status of permanent neutrality enshrined in the country's constitution. He also said that Moldova should not join the European Union alongside Ukraine.
"It was a big mistake to be lumped together with Ukraine, which has enough problems of its own right now," he said. "It will become clear in the near future to what extent separation from Ukraine is possible within the framework of this process."
Doubts about EU membership by 2028
According to an opinion poll conducted by the Moldovan IMAS pollster in June, the majority of Moldovans do not believe that Moldova may be admitted to the European Union by 2028, as President Maia Sandu and her ruling Party of Action and Solidarity promised during last year's parliamentary elections.
Allegations of a 'second front' against Russia
In a separate interview published on June 15, Dodon told TASS that in April, the West and Ukraine attempted to open a new front against Russia in Transnistria. "Given the conflict in Ukraine, the Transnistrian issue was even more acute," he said. "After February 2022 - and this information has already been made public - it became vital for the West and for Ukraine - and the task is still relevant - to open a second front. That is to drag Russia into hostilities somewhere else alongside Donbass and Lugansk."
He added, "We know for sure that such attempts were made in the Transnistrian direction in April," but said that "it was avoided at that stage." He also recalled that Georgia, too, had pointed to Western calls for opening a second front with Russia.
EU membership prospects
In the same interview, Dodon asserted that "everybody understands already that Moldova will not be an EU member in the coming years." He acknowledged that "Brussels has pledged that the first [phase] of negotiations will begin in the coming days, but the Europeans themselves - and our delegation has lately visited Brussels - acknowledge that becoming a member of the European Union will be very challenging and that it will not happen soon."
Dodon also accused President Sandu of resorting to rhetoric about unification with Romania to blackmail Brussels, claiming that Brussels itself had opposed such scenarios over what he called "certain risks."
Context
Moldova was officially granted EU candidate status in 2022, and accession negotiations were formally launched in the summer of 2024. Earlier, Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi stated that the former Soviet republic was ready to consider joining the EU without full membership rights by the 2028 presidential election.
Dodon's comments come amid ongoing EU accession talks for Moldova and Ukraine. The process does not impose any deadlines for accession, as demonstrated by Turkey, which entered into EU accession negotiations in 2005 and is still not close to joining the bloc after 21 years.