Day: January 14, 2026

The ruling Georgian Dream party officials, including Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and disputed Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, slammed Moldovan President Maia Sandu over her remarks that she would vote in favor of Moldova’s reunification with Romania if a referendum were held.

“Such a statement is astonishing,” Kobakhidze told Georgian reporters in Abu Dhabi, where he is on his first official foreign visit of the year. “The country’s political leader is saying she is ready to vote for the loss of the country’s independence. This is a very unfortunate development for Moldova,” he added.

Shalva Papuashvili posted his criticism on Facebook, saying that when a president is willing to vote “against her own country’s independence,” that “makes everything clear,” adding, “In this respect, yes, we indeed lag behind Moldova.” He continued: “We cannot give up our 3,000 years, which prove that if you believe in your national identity, even a small country can carry its statehood through the firestorms of history.”

Papuashvili also argued that Sandu’s comments suggested “she herself is skeptical” about Moldova’s prospects of joining the European Union “independently” and that “she is eyeing a GDR scenario,” referring to East Germany’s automatic inclusion in the European Communities following German reunification in 1990.

“There is nothing more to say. This is a path toward Europe through the loss of sovereignty,” he added. “For us, the issue is simple: Georgia’s European path is the path of an independent state, not its abolition.”

Sandu said she would vote in favor of Moldova’s reunification with Romania, an EU and NATO member, if a referendum were to take place, while also acknowledging that the majority of Moldovans do not support her position.

“Look at what is happening in the world. It is getting more and more difficult for a small country like Moldova to survive as a democracy, as a sovereign country, and of course to resist Russia,” she said. Sandu, who is pro-European, has often expressed concerns about Russia’s hybrid warfare against Moldova, including election interference.

Moldova was part of Romania from 1918 until 1940, when it was annexed by the USSR. It declared independence in 1991 after the fall of the Iron Curtain. According to Reuters, around 1.5 million Moldovans hold Romanian citizenship.

Also Read:

• 26/09/2025 – Georgian Pro-Government TV Imedi Crew Denied Entry to Moldova
• 31/01/2023 – Moldovan Deputy PM Visits Georgia