Moldova has taken one of the most important steps in its foreign policy since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. The authorities in Chișinău are steadily moving toward leaving the Commonwealth of Independent States, an organization created after the collapse of the Soviet Union and long regarded as an instrument of Russian influence in the post-Soviet space. Following decisions by the government and parliament, the acts related to the denunciation of the CIS’s core documents were promulgated by President Maia Sandu and published in the official gazette.
The formal process accelerated on January 19, 2026, when Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi announced that Moldova had begun the procedure to confirm the termination of three key agreements forming the basis of its membership in the CIS. As he stressed, the country has in practice not participated in the organization’s work since 2023, but from a legal standpoint it still remained a member. For this reason, the authorities sought to close that chapter formally as well.
The next stage came on March 11, when the government approved draft laws concerning withdrawal from the CIS statutory bodies. The authorities argued that the fundamental values on which the organization was supposed to be based — especially respect for territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders — had been undermined by Russia’s actions. The official justification referred, among other things, to the war against Ukraine and the illegal presence of Russian troops on Moldovan territory.
The decisive vote took place on April 2 in parliament in Chișinău. Lawmakers then supported the denunciation of three fundamental documents: the agreement establishing the CIS, the protocol to that agreement, and the organization’s charter. The Moldovan parliament described the move as “natural and inevitable” on the road toward European integration. In practice, this means that Chișinău wants to definitively sever the institutional ties linking the country to a Russia-centered framework of cooperation.
The decision has now entered into force in Moldova’s domestic legal order following promulgation by President Maia Sandu and publication in the country’s official gazette. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to officially notify the CIS, and the legal effects of the denunciation of these agreements will take place 12 months after notification. This means that Moldova has not merely made a symbolic gesture, but has launched a real mechanism for its final withdrawal from the organization.
At the same time, the authorities in Chișinău stress that leaving the CIS statutory structures does not mean severing all relations with countries in the region. Some agreements, especially in the economic and social spheres, are expected to remain in force, while relations with individual states are to be developed on a bilateral and multilateral basis outside the CIS itself. According to the Moldovan authorities, such a model is more consistent with the country’s interests and with its strategic objective of joining the European Union by the end of the decade.
The decision to leave the CIS also carries a political and symbolic dimension. It is a clear signal that Maia Sandu’s camp wants to definitively close the post-Soviet chapter in Moldova’s history and move the country into the Western sphere of integration. At the same time, the step has provoked opposition from pro-Russian circles. Former president Igor Dodon had previously described leaving the CIS as an unacceptable decision, while Russian officials criticized Chișinău’s actions as being directed against traditional regional ties. The dispute over the CIS therefore shows that Moldova’s geopolitical direction remains one of the most important arenas of political rivalry in the country.
