Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced yesterday in Madrid to his Moldovan counterpart, Nicolae Popescu, that the Spanish Government will “already” take the “first steps” to convert the current diplomatic antenna in the capital, Chisinau, into a Spanish Embassy.
The diplomatic antenna – whose inauguration was announced last June by the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, during his visit to Moldova – “has allowed us to structure bilateral contacts” and has given “continuity to the deepening of our bilateral relationship”, Albares declared yesterday during the joint press conference with Popescu at the ministerial headquarters of the Viana Palace.
“I have announced to the Minister that we are already going to take the steps for that antenna to become an Embassy in its entirety, in a country that at this moment is a candidate to enter the EU”, he added. Spain does not have an Embassy in Chisinau and is represented in Moldova from Bucharest. On the other hand, Moldova does have an Embassy in Madrid since July 2010.
According to Albares, Spain maintains a “constant” support to Moldova, which “will be maintained during the Spanish Presidency of the EU”, to help this country “to overcome the extraordinary circumstances and challenges it faces as a result of the unjust and unjustified Russian war of aggression against Ukraine”. He also highlighted the reforms being carried out by Moldova to be able to enter the EU “in such complex circumstances” and pledged to maintain Spanish humanitarian aid to this country through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) to facilitate the reception of Ukrainian refugees and to face “such a complicated situation that does not seem to have a solution in the short term”.
For his part, Nicolae Popescu highlighted the reforms developed by his country “despite a very complex situation, the most complex since 1992 due to the war in Ukraine”, and recalled that, since the Russian invasion began, “600,000 refugees have passed through Moldova and today there are 85,000 Ukrainian refugees in our country”.
Likewise, and without wishing to expressly pronounce himself on the possible sending of German Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the Moldovan minister affirmed that “any aid” provided to this country, whether economic, military or with equipment of “any kind”, will help “Ukraine to maintain its territorial integrity and liberate its territories”. This aid “is an investment to reduce the negative effects of the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the negative effects on dozens of countries and for the return of peace to Europe” and, therefore, “we all have to contribute so that peace returns to the continent and Ukraine can liberate its territory”, he added.
According to Popescu, Spain has proved to be “a reliable partner for the benefit of the people of Moldova in the last year” and, therefore, the two countries want to continue working to strengthen diplomatic relations and extend them to more areas of cooperation, such as bilingual education (“our languages are very similar and that makes things easier”).
Besides, the two ministers signed yesterday an exchange agreement between the respective Diplomatic Schools and the Council of Ministers sent to the Parliament the Agreement on Social Security between Spain and Moldova, while authorizing the manifestation of Spain’s consent to be bound by the aforementioned agreement. The signing of this agreement took place on July 21 in Madrid by the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration of Spain, José Luis Escrivá Belmonte, and the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Moldova, Marcel Spatari, after authorization by the Council of Ministers on June 14.
