Moldova to leave CIS soon – deputy PM
Mihai Popshoy (Photo: EPA)

The termination of the agreements underlying Moldova's membership in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is at the stage of approval, and the relevant documents will soon be submitted to the country's parliament. This was stated by Moldovan deputy prime minister and minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popșoi in an interview with Radio Moldova.

It's about the denunciation of three documents: The CIS Charter, signed in Minsk on January 22, 1993, the Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS, signed there on December 8, 1991, and its Annex of December 22 of the same year.

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"This will mean that the Republic of Moldova will officially no longer be a member of the CIS. [...] In fact, we have suspended our participation for some time, but legally we were still there. With the abolition of these three fundamental agreements, the Republic of Moldova will officially no longer be a member of the CIS. This process has already begun, we have recently made this decision, the approval process has begun," the official noted.

He said that by mid-February, the government will probably complete the processes, after which the relevant decision will have to be made by the members of the Moldovan parliament.

Popszoy added that some agreements with the CIS that do not contradict Chișinău's membership in European structures and "bring certain benefits" have no grounds for denunciation.

"But legally, in the near future, the Republic of Moldova will not officially be a member of the CIS," the vice prime minister said.

According to him, Chișinău has concluded 283 agreements with the Commonwealth, 71 agreements have been denounced, and about 60 are in the process of termination.

Moldova began the process of denouncing agreements with the CIS shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. According to the country's authorities, the provisions of these documents are outdated and in some cases have never been applied.

At the end of 2025, the Moldovan parliament also terminated the agreement on culture with Russia, which means the closure of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Chisinau ("Russian House").

The minister of Culture of Moldova, Cristian Jardan, noted at the time that "the Russian Cultural Center was not a cultural center at all, it was a center under the cover of which actions were carried out that undermined the sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova."

  • The CIS emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991. Ukraine was not a member of the organization because it did not ratify the CIS Charter. In 2018, Kyiv ceased to participate in the statutory bodies of the Commonwealth due to the ongoing aggression of the Russian Federation.