Maia Sandu pleads for Union in Hungarian press: "Romania is a democratic country compared to Russia"

In an interview for Hungarian press, published on Monday, November 2, President Maia Sandu was also approached regarding the pressing issue of the Union of the Republic of Moldova with Romania. In this context, Maia Sandu advocated for the Union, saying that she wants citizens to be safe and free, adding that "Romania is a democratic country compared to Russia."

On the other hand, Maia Sandu stated that there is not enough popular support for the Union of the Republic of Moldova with Romania. However, it must be said that Maia Sandu referred, for the umpteenth time, to a series of surveys whose results can be easily contested, since many citizens of the Republic of Moldova have gone abroad, and the rise of social platforms such as TikTok has considerably fragmented the space of public communication. Thus, representative sampling of the population becomes much more difficult in a state such as the Republic of Moldova and, consequently, it is more difficult to conduct a survey that realistically reflects public opinion.

Journalist: A few months ago, in an interview given on the British podcast "The Rest Is Politics", you said that, if a referendum were announced on the Unification of Moldova with Romania, you would support the Unification. A rather striking statement.

Maia Sandu: I want my country to be safe and I want my country to be free. Imagine if Russia were to approach your borders – you have to look for solutions, even if they might seem strange to you. At the moment, we do not have enough popular support for this solution. On the other hand, we have majority support for EU integration and that is why we are following this path with such passion.

Journalist: As a northeastern region of Romania, would Moldova be free?

Maia Sandu: Regarding sovereignty, it's a different discussion, but Romania is a democratic country compared to Russia, and the citizens of Romania are free, which cannot be said about Russia.

We recall that the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, visited Budapest on October 23-24, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Hungary, Péter Magyar. The visit took place in a context marked by tensions, given that Hungary is obstructing the European integration process of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the two states being coupled in this process.