PARIS (Reuters) -France and Moldova signed a defense cooperation agreement and a bilateral economic roadmap on Thursday aimed at stimulating trade, diversifying cooperation, and increasing French private investment in the Republic of Moldova.
Emmanuel Macron and his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu reaffirmed during an interview at the Elysée their “firm determination to support Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression”.
Neighboring Ukraine, Moldova has only a small defense budget and has long had tense relations with Russia, which have increased sharply since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, on government in Chisinau firmly supporting Kyiv while pro-Russian separatists in Transnistria, a narrow strip of land along the Ukrainian border, have sought support from Moscow.
“If we do not stop the aggressor, he will continue his aggression and the front line will continue to get closer. To get closer to us. To get closer to you,” declared Maia Sandu alongside Emmanuel Macron.
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“Europe must therefore present a united front. Aggression must be repulsed forcefully,” added the Moldovan president.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, with John Irish, written by Kate Entringer and Tangi Salaün, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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