Moldovan President Maia Sandu signed a defense agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, March 7, which includes the dispatch of a French military representative to the country. Moldova is facing increasing pressure from Russia.

This agreement replaces an old agreement which was signed in 1998, between the two ministries. This is going to be an agreement on cooperation in defense policies, training, and information technology. So it has a wider scope.

This is not a security agreement like the one between France and Ukraine. This is a first step, to help us improve the security of Moldova and of the region of the continent. We do feel safe, thanks to the Ukrainian resistance. But Europe – and not just Europe, but all countries which want their borders respected – should understand that Vladimir Putin must be stopped. If we value peace, we need to help Ukraine with everything it needs.

I believe that many people by now understand that Vladimir Putin is not going to stop. We need to move faster, find a way to be more efficient in delivering support to Ukraine, better explain the situation to our citizens; because if we don't do it now, the costs are going to be greater for everyone.

That's not a decision for me to make. We know that today Ukraine needs weapons and financial support, and that's what we need to focus on. There is nothing more urgent and more important for our continent today than to help Ukraine resist and win this war.

As long as Ukraine resists, there is not that Russia can do to Moldova with respect to a military attack. But of course, pressure continues to try to undermine our institutions, to destabilize our country, and this includes energy blackmail, cyberattacks, trying to bribe voters in elections, disinformation, propaganda. This interference is growing as we come closer to Europe and make significant steps closer to the EU.

I would like to make it very clear that the situation in Transnistria is stable and it has been our priority since the beginning of the war. What we saw a couple of days ago happening was an "appeal" by the regime in Tiraspol both to Russia, but also the European Union, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations for money, not for military support. But Russia has used the situation, as it usually does, to send Moldovans a message: That if they pursue their choice of a democratic state, then they are putting peace at risk.

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