Moldova’s parliament has approved a final set of measures completing the country’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), marking a decisive step away from Moscow’s sphere of influence.
Lawmakers voted to denounce the remaining agreements binding Moldova to the CIS, effectively ending the country’s participation in the Russia-led bloc formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The decision formalizes a gradual disengagement process that has accelerated in recent years amid shifting geopolitical priorities.
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Officials in Chișinău said the move reflects the country’s strategic direction toward European integration and its intention to strengthen ties with Western institutions. Authorities argued that many CIS agreements had become either obsolete or incompatible with Moldova’s national interests and reform agenda.
The withdrawal also carries symbolic weight, underscoring Chișinău’s effort to distance itself from Russian influence following heightened regional tensions since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Over the past two years, Moldova has steadily reduced its engagement with CIS mechanisms, denouncing dozens of agreements covering areas such as trade, security cooperation, and cultural exchange. The latest parliamentary vote completes that process, removing the final legal ties.
Moldova, one of the 15 former Soviet republics, is located between Ukraine and EU member Romania. It has not taken part in any CIS activities since 2023.
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Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu cast the move as the overdue end of a geopolitical atavism.
“We are now legally and ethically prepared to close this chapter,” he said, arguing that Russia’s repeated violations of international norms left the government with both the right and the responsibility to sever the remaining ties.
The CIS was created in December 1991 as the Soviet Union collapsed. It was founded first by Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, then quickly expanded to include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Georgia joined later, in 1993, bringing the bloc to its peak of 12 members.
Moscow has long regarded the CIS as a symbol of its influence across the post-Soviet space. Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has grown increasingly uneasy about the erosion of that influence in former Soviet republics. That concern was on display this week when President Vladimir Putin told Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that Armenia could not pursue European integration while remaining in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. Putin also raised concerns over Armenia’s distancing from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, another Moscow-led bloc that Yerevan has effectively frozen its participation in.
Moldova formally applied for EU membership in 2022 and has since accelerated reforms aimed at meeting accession criteria. The final severing of institutional ties with the CIS is widely seen as part of this broader strategic pivot.
The final step is for President Maia Sandu to sign the measure into law.