Moldova quitting CIS agreement on armed forces, border troops

CHISINAU. July 26 (Interfax) - Moldova is withdrawing from an agreement on armed forces and border troops concluded within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The Moldovan government on Wednesday approved a bill terminating Moldova's participation in an agreement between the CIS member states on armed forces and border troops concluded in Minsk on December 30, 1991. The bill has been sent to the parliament for endorsement.

"The termination of the treaty will not entail any negative political implications, as Moldova will continue to be part of the UN security system and retain its permanent neutrality, which does not allow foreign troops to be stationed in the republic's territory," the government's explanatory note to the bill said.

The government also approved a bill on terminating an agreement on promoting a coordinated policy on standardization, metrology, and certification signed in Moscow on March 13, 1992 and an additional protocol to it.

Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu said in February 2023 that Moldova was starting its withdrawal from dozens of CIS agreements. He said the country was a signatory to about 330 CIS agreements, and many of them required revision.

In the past two months, the Moldovan parliament and government have denounced about ten CIS agreements, including an agreement on the country's membership of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.