Israel’s decision earlier this year to open an embassy in Chisinau is already having a positive effect on bilateral ties, Moldova’s Foreign Minister told The Times of Israel on Thursday during his first visit to the Jewish state.

“We’re already seeing the progress that the permanent presence of Israel in the Republic of Moldova brings,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi, who arrived in Israel for an international conference on combating antisemitism.

In February, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited Chisinau to open Israel’s first embassy in Moldova, over 30 years after the two countries established diplomatic relations.

Land-locked Moldovia is bordered by Romania and Ukraine. Israel recognized Moldova’s independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. A year later, the two countries formed diplomatic relations and since 1994 Moldova has had an embassy in Israel.

Some 70,000 Jews have immigrated from Moldova to Israel.

“We’ve been able to speed up some of the bilateral agreements that we had, including the one that I just signed with the Minister of Justice on cooperation in civil and judicial matters,” Popsoi explained, referring to the legal cooperation agreement he signed with Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

Moldova has long sought the extradition of Israeli-born billionaire and convicted fraudster Ilan Shor, who was active in Moldovan politics but fled back to Israel after being accused of wide-ranging graft.

In December, Sa’ar simultaneously announced that he was closing Israel’s embassy in Ireland and opening one in Chisinau.

“Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel,” said Sa’ar. “Israel will invest its resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide according to priorities that also take into account the attitudes and actions of these states toward Israel.”

Popsoi, 38, wouldn’t acknowledge any relationship between the two moves: “I wouldn’t connect the two decisions. They might have coincided, but they don’t have anything that links them directly.”

He stressed that it was in his country’s national interest to expand relations with Israel.

“There are important areas of cooperation where we can foster relations to mutual benefit, like economic exchanges, agriculture, green technology, cooperation in security and defense,” said Popsoi.

He pointed out that there are currently 17 weekly flights between the two countries, and that he hopes more Israelis decide to vacation in Moldova. Popsoi stressed Moldova’s world-class wine industry, which includes a number of kosher wines.

Moldova is a candidate country to join the European Union, which is often critical of Israel.

“The Republic of Moldova, both as a candidate country, and of course, especially as a member, has to align itself with the foreign policy of the European Union, where there is consensus,” he said.

At the same time, a pro-Israel bloc in central Europe that includes Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria is an important counterweight to other EU countries that are less sympathetic to Israel. Moldova is likely to join the supportive voices.

Moldova firmly backs Ukraine and accuses Russia of interfering in domestic politics. Russia has troops in the breakaway Transnistria region, internationally recognized as Moldovan territory.

Jerusalem has previously maintained a delicate balance between its principled support for Ukraine and its need to preserve ties with Moscow. Russia and Israel have traditionally enjoyed warm relations — almost a fifth of Israel’s population is Russian-speaking, and Moscow has for years strove to maintain cordial ties with all major powers in the Middle East.

The two countries also coordinate military actions in Syria, and Israel has so far abstained from sharp criticism of Russia’s offensive on Ukraine and has not joined Western-led sanctions on Moscow.

Popsoi declined to comment on Israel’s position on the war.

“I would call upon every country in the free world, every partner and friendly country, to continuously stand by Ukraine,” he said, “because Ukraine is defending our shared values and principles. It’s only Ukraine’s sacrifice and courage of the Ukrainian army, men and women in the society, that has precluded the Kremlin from bringing their tanks and their army to our border.”

He pointed out that Iran-made Russian Shahed explosive drones have struck Moldovan territory less than a mile away from homes.

Popsoi said that the defense establishments in the two countries should expand cooperation.

“Israel is known, unfortunately, for having this constant state of readiness and then having encountered significant security challenges throughout its history,” he said.

“There are certain things that we can learn from each other, including in hybrid interference and hybrid tactics,” continued Popsoi. “We’re certainly looking to engage with all of our partners in helping each other, consolidate our resilience across institutions, across policy areas, and general societal resilience.”

Popsoi spoke to the Times of Israel after participating in a summit on fighting global antisemitism, hosted by Sa’ar during Israel’s presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, an intergovernmental organization for promoting Holocaust education and fighting antisemitism.

“Some parallels can be drawn between our tragic history, between the pogroms in Chisinau and the suffering that our Ukrainian friends and neighbors have to go through at the hands of the Kremlin,” he said, referring to the 1903 rampage that left almost 50 Jews dead and many more injured in the city then known as Kishniev.

He also stressed Moldova’s commitment to “educate the spirit of tolerance, spirit of empathy, and the principle of combating antisemitism, especially in light of our history in the Republic of Moldova.”

Around half the Jews in Moldova died in the Holocaust.

“During the Nazi occupation, during many different periods of our time, there have been dark pages of our history which our younger generation needs to remember,” said Popsoi, “so that we don’t end up in situations where antisemitism shows its ugly head.”