Moldova Entering Roadmap With EAEU May Require Scrapping EU Association – Dodon

Signing a memorandum on cooperation between Moldova and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) does not contradict EU Association Agreement, but entering the roadmap with EAEU, which would be the next step, may require a review of the agreement with the bloc, or even its nullification, Moldovan President Igor Dodon said on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier on Tuesday, after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dodon expressed hope for Moldova to become an observer country at EAEU, adding that the Association Agreement with the EU "was fruitless for Moldova".

"It’s a frame document [memorandum with EAEU] that does not contradict any other agreements signed by Moldova, it does not contradict the EU Association Agreement. But the next step is a roadmap, and it may well require reviewing some positions of the Association Agreement signed in 2014, or scrapping the document altogether. But it’s the next step, and we need to make the first one first," Dodon said.

In July 2014, Moldova signed Association Agreement with the European Union, under which the country has to completely open its market for European trade. Relations between Moscow and Chisinau worsened after the agreement.

On Monday, Dodon started a three-day visit to the Russian capital at the invitation of Putin. The agenda of the visit involves a number of meetings with the Russian leadership and discussions of bilateral cooperation.