The victory of the EU, the defeat of Russia: Moldova exits the CIS, adding another to the post-Soviet bloc

On April 2, the Moldovan Parliament passed the resolution for the country's withdrawal from the CIS by a vote of 60. Subsequently, President Maia Sandu issued the decree on withdrawal, which was published and took effect on April 8 in the official gazette. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will notify the CIS accordingly. If Moldova's withdrawal fully takes effect after the notice period, the CIS will be left with only eight member states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The CIS was established immediately after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, aiming to provide a framework for addressing the aftermath of the breakup and maintaining cooperation among the former Soviet republics. Moldova’s exit targets the CIS composed of 11 former Soviet republics, not all 15 Soviet republics. Moldova’s departure will further weaken the CIS politically, but the organization will continue to exist as long as other members remain.

Moldova has ratified the withdrawal from the 1991 Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS, its related protocols, and the 1993 CIS Charter. The Moldovan authorities stated that the core values and principles of the CIS are no longer respected—particularly the principles of territorial integrity and inviolability of borders. They cited Russia’s war against Ukraine, its aggressive actions toward Georgia, and the illegal military presence of Russian forces on Moldovan territory. Chisinau emphasized that this move aligns with Moldova’s path toward European integration, with the EU remaining its primary economic partner.

Economic ties with the CIS have significantly declined: by 2025, CIS countries accounted for only 5.9% of Moldova’s total exports, while the EU accounted for 67.5%.

Therefore, Moldova’s eventual exit from the CIS may not come as a surprise to other members. On January 19, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mikheil Popescu announced the initiation of procedures to withdraw from the three core agreements that formed the foundation of Moldova’s membership in the CIS.

“We are currently processing the ratification procedures for our withdrawal from the three key agreements with the CIS. These agreements form the basis of our membership—the CIS Charter, the CIS Founding Agreement, and its annexes,” Popescu said. He added that this means Moldova will legally no longer be a CIS member, and in practice, Moldova’s participation has already been suspended.

Since the 2020 presidential election, Moldova has begun severing ties with Soviet-era legacies. Newly elected President Maia Sandu announced a roadmap toward EU integration and refused to attend CIS summits. Over recent years, Moldova has gradually terminated agreements linked to the CIS. As of January 2026, Moldovan officials reported that the country had signed 283 CIS-related agreements, of which 71 have been revoked and about 60 are currently under process.

On December 12, 2025, the Moldovan Parliament approved the repeal of the 1992 Bishkek Agreement, which allowed visa-free entry for CIS citizens. According to bilateral agreements, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and several other countries still enjoy visa-free access to Moldova. The Moldovan authorities noted that repealing the Bishkek Agreement will affect only Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as these two nations lack similar bilateral arrangements with Moldova.

Notably, Ukraine, along with Russia and Belarus, was one of the founding members of the CIS. On December 7–8, 1991, in the Belovezh Forest near Viskuli, Belarus, Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk, and Stanislav Shushkevich signed the agreement formally declaring the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the establishment of the CIS.

On December 13, the presidents of five Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—met in Ashgabat. The group issued a joint statement expressing their willingness to join the CIS on equal terms, recognizing all members as founding states.

On December 21, leaders of 11 former Soviet republics signed the Almaty Declaration in Almaty, outlining the goals and principles of the CIS and expanding the framework established earlier that month.

Post-Soviet integration began almost immediately after the Soviet collapse, though the process was far from smooth. Beyond the CIS, Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Nazarbayev also promoted deeper Eurasian economic integration, evolving from a customs union into a single economic space and ultimately forming the Eurasian Economic Union. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan later joined this group, further expanding the initial framework built by Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.

Thus, Moldova’s exit from the CIS is part of a broader restructuring rather than an isolated act. Meanwhile, Armenia has taken a different political path.

The Armenian Parliament has approved a law to initiate accession talks with the EU starting March 2025, despite the country currently being a member of the Eurasian Economic Union. This does not mean Armenia is exiting the Eurasian Economic Union—declaring such a move premature. But it does indicate that former Soviet republics are no longer united around a single post-Soviet center.

Source: Central Asia Times

Author: Andrey Matveyev

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1862180968101955/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.