Thank you so much.
Mr. Chair, vice-chairs, members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen, I am truly honoured to speak today before this esteemed committee, the foreign affairs committee, which is very dear to any minister of foreign affairs.
Let me first and foremost express my sincere gratitude to Chairman Robert Nault for the opportunity to be here today and for his personal commitment to support young democracies faced with multifarious challenges in their pursuit of an independent path, free of external coercion and pressure. Who would have thought that almost three decades ago since gaining their independence, some of these countries would still have to struggle for their territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty, and that instead of focusing on economic transformations and building functional democracies, they still continue to be exposed to multiple threats to their sovereignty, independence and, most importantly, their national security? I am therefore pleased to be here today to share with you some of my thoughts about the security landscape in our region and the security challenges that my country, the Republic of Moldova, is facing today.
We are all witnessing the complexity of contemporary change. The current security environment is influenced by continuous transformations that generate new risks and also new threats. These challenges push for redefining a traditional concept of security, while the security agenda must be focused on new ways of addressing asymmetric and non-conventional threats that require new types of international and regional solidarity.
Wedged between Romania and Ukraine, and lying in the lowlands of southeastern Europe, my country's geographical position was thought to represent a bridge between the west and the east, yet the outbreak some 26 to 27 years ago of an armed conflict in the eastern region of Moldova, the Transnistria region of the Republic of Moldova, posed a serious threat to both national and regional security. This threat is being fuelled by the outbreak, almost simultaneously, of other conflicts throughout most of the former Soviet republics, the Ukraine being the most recent one.
Today the breakaway region of Transnistria is home to about 1,400 Russian troops and more than 20,000 tonnes of ammunition, most of which date back to the Second World War. The outbreak of the conflict and the foreign military presence in the territory of my country continuously generates tensions, and as such poses a risk of escalating confrontation. Foreign military presence constitutes a serious obstacle to a peaceful resolution of the conflict and the territorial integrity of my country, as it contributes to the preservation of the conflict situation by encouraging the destructive forces to keep on promoting their secessionist plans.
Furthermore, the Transnistrian conflict continues to impact negatively Moldova's overall political, economic, and democratic development. In addition, a general state of uncertainty as to what the country's future would be like generates distrust of large groups of the population and the democratic transformations they have been aspiring to. It polarizes the society and forces an outflow of the population from my country.
Over the last few years, the Russian Federation's operational group has intensified its military exercises, conducted jointly with the Transnistrian paramilitary forces, in blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement signed in 1992. Besides that, the Russian Federation continues to enlist recruits from among the local population into its army, and has launched a massive campaign of handing out Russian passports to the region's population in its attempt to stretch out abroad the so-called Russian world.
The Moldovan government has consistently advocated for an unconditional and complete withdrawal of Russian troops from our territory, as their stationing is not based on any legal framework or any consent of the host country. Despite the fact that the Russian Federation has repeatedly committed itself to withdrawing its troops from this region and respecting Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity, it has constantly defied common sense.
It is therefore my particular pleasure to voice today from this important rostrum my government's great appreciation of the solidarity Canada has shown towards Moldova's endeavours to promote, for the first time in our independence history, a UN General Assembly resolution on the complete and unconditional withdrawal of foreign military forces from the national territory of the Republic of Moldova.
Canada has taken a decision to co-sponsor our resolution, thus becoming the first country in the world to do so. This move not only shows Canada's consistent and unequivocal stance on the importance of strictly abiding by the principles of international law, of the Charter of the United Nations, and of the rules-based world order, but we also see much symbolism in this decision. A higher degree of political dialogue has developed between Moldova and Canada.
Another important milestone achieved in our co-operation is about to occur today in the upcoming signing of the bilateral agreement for the promotion and protection of investment within the Republic of Moldova and Canada, as well as a joint declaration on progressive and inclusive trade and investment. It will send a strong signal to both of our business communities about the openness and guarantees of our markets for mutual and beneficial co-operation.
It is important to remain committed to the reform agenda undertaken by my country under the association agreement signed with the European Union in 2014. The Moldovan government is well aware of the importance of domestic reforms.
I see here two most critical strategic goals. One is a profound systemic modernization of the country by embracing democratic values, and ensuring the rule of law and an independent judiciary. The other is encouraging free entrepreneurship; supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises; and continuously investing in training, research and development, and education as key factors in sustainable economic growth.
Concurrently, restoring mutual trust between both banks of the Dniester River, showing the population of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova the benefits of a closer co-operation with Europe, combined with a clear strategic direction of development and a European integration perspective for the country can bring those deliverables that are so much needed in the society.
With the Russian troops stationed in the Transnistrian region, which stretches over 400 kilometres along the western border of Ukraine and Moldova, and having an ongoing conflict in the Ukraine's eastern region of Donbass, the security and stability of both Moldova and Ukraine are much intertwined.
It is therefore of paramount importance for the two neighbouring countries to work closely towards more efficiently addressing these threats. The Moldovan government continues to support Ukraine in its effort to overcome the crisis in Donbass and to solve the Crimean problem through political and diplomatic means in order to restore peace and regain Ukraine's full sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Republic of Moldova condemned the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation, and supports Ukraine's efforts to resolve the separatist conflict in Donbass based on the Minsk accords. A good example of such co-operation is the joint control of the Transnistrian segment of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border crossing point launched last July. In the near future, we intend to move to the final stage of taking full de facto control over the common border.
It was last Saturday that the parliaments of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, together with the speakers, created a joint parliamentary assembly. A new and only platform was called to unite our forces to collectively address common threats to national and regional security, as well as to strengthen co-operation and further advance the reform agendas.
Having a more advanced dialogue with the European Union through the implementation of the association agreements, these three countries—Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia—aspire to full-fledged membership of the European Union. As in the case of Georgia and Ukraine, Moldova has already made its strategic choice: European integration. This is not merely an option for our country, it is a vital necessity. We hope that in this important, and without exaggeration, crucial time for our countries, our partners, and friends—the European Union, Canada, and the U.S.—will show their solidarity and support.
We therefore warmly welcome recent signals from Canada about its openness to viewing our three countries through a single regional lens and to adopting, accordingly, a common regional approach. I wish to assure you of my government's willingness and full commitment to engage more actively together with you in this important endeavour.
I should stop here to allow for more time for our communication.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
