April 3 (SeeNews) - Moldova's president Igor Dodon said on Monday he has signed a memorandum on cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
"The signing of the memorandum of cooperation with the EAEU is a historic event for Moldova. However, it does not involve the integration of our country in the union and does not enter in contradiction with other agreements signed by Moldova, such as the association agreement with the European Union," Dodon said in a post on Facebook on Monday.
The memorandum was signed during a ceremony in Moldova's capital Chisinau, under the 'Eurasian Economic Union- Republic of Moldova' international forum.
The memorandum envisages the creation of a joint working group on cooperation between EAEU members and Moldova, as its goal is to increase bilateral trade and investments between the countries.
Dodon announced the signing of the memorandum last month, stressing that the agreement will make it easier for Moldovan goods to return to the Russian market and to access the four other EAEU member states' markets.
Also in March, Dodon said he formally began a procedure requesting that Moldova be granted EAEU observer status, which would allow it to participate in the organisation's activities but not in the voting or decision making process. At the end of May, the member states of the union will decide on the request.
In January, pro-Russian Dodon said that Moldova could scrap its association agreement with the European Union in 2018 if the Socialist Party (PSRM) wins majority in Parliament in the next general election.
Moldova's president is not backed by the country's parliament and government in his efforts to secure closer ties with Russia. Therefore, he did not ask the parliament's consent to sign the memorandum, saying that the document does not need to be ratified as it is not an international agreement and does not entail rights and commitments regulated by the international law.
In response, prime minister Pavel Filip said in a televised statement on Monday that Moldova’s participation in the EAEU project is incompatible with the free trade zone set up between the republic and the EU. However, Dodon said that according to polls, Moldovan citizens prefer cooperation with EAEU to the European Union.
A poll conducted in October by the Public Politics Institute (IPP) showed that 30.9% of Moldovans would vote for the integration of their country into the EU, while 44% would prefer joining the EAEU. Also, when asked about their feelings towards the EU, 14.5% said they feel dislike, 13.2% commented that it provokes in them fear and 14.2% responded that it fills them with discontent. The IPP poll, for which 1,109 adults were interviewed, has a margin of error of +/-2.8%.
Dodon, who was elected president in November, is a former PSRM leader. The Socialists are the second biggest group in Moldova's 101-seat parliament, holding 24 seats. An alliance formed by the Democratic Party (PD) with 20 seats and the Liberal Party (PL) with 13 MPs prefer an EU path for the country.
Earlier this year, Dodon said that he would not agree to the opening of a NATO liaison office in Chisinau and might consider calling a referendum on the matter. In Dodon's opinion, the opening of a NATO liaison office in Chisinau is a provocation launched by the pro-European governing coalition in Moldova.
The tiny landlocked ex-Soviet state of Moldova has a population of some 3 million people. The country has strong historical and political ties with its western neighbour Romania, with more than 75% of the population speaking Romanian. However, some 10% of the population living predominantly in the internationally unrecognised separatist republic of Transnistria, which broke away from Moldova in the 1990s, speak Russian and identify themselves as Russians.