ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Blinken vows U.S. support to wary Moldova as Ukraine war rages

Share
CHISINAU, Moldova -

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday pledged America's support to the small, Western-leaning former Soviet republic of Moldova that is coping with an influx of refugees from Ukraine and warily watching Russia's intensifying war with its neighbor.

Blinken met with senior Moldovan officials who are appealing for international assistance in dealing with more than 120,000 refugees from Ukraine that it is now hosting while also seeking security reassurances against potential Russian aggression.

More than 230,000 people have fled into or passed through Moldova from Ukraine since the war began 11 days ago. Blinken said Moldova's welcoming of refugees is an inspiration to the world.

"We admire the generosity of hospitality, the willingness to be such good friends to people who are in distress, and, indeed, I want to do everything we can to help you deal with the burden that this has imposed," he said before heading to Lithuania.

Russia has troops in Moldova, a country of 2.6 million, stationed in the disputed territory of Transnistria, and they are being closely watched as Russian President Vladimir Putin presses ahead with the invasion of Ukraine.

"This is a subject of high vulnerability and we watch it carefully," Moldovan President Maia Sandu said. She said there had not yet been any indication that the roughly 1,500 Russian soldiers based in Transnistria had changed posture but stressed that it was a concern given what is happening in Ukraine.

"In this region now there is no possibility for us to feel safe," Sandu said.

Although it is neutral militarily and has no plans to try to become a member of NATO, Moldova formally applied to join the European Union just three days ago in a fast-track bid to bolster its ties with the West.

"While we are facing this unprecedented circumstances, we are firmly committed to our path for European integration," Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said. "We believe that this is an agenda to transform Moldova into a modern, prosperous European state based on the fundamental values of human rights and the rule of law."

Blinken praised Moldova's European aspirations and said Moldova could count on U.S. support.

"Moldova has chosen the path to democracy, a more inclusive economy, a closer relationship with the countries and institutions of Europe, and the United States supports Moldova in those efforts grounded in our respect for the neutrality that's enshrined in the constitution," he said.

"Moldova is a powerful example of a democracy rising to the moment with vision and with determination," Blinken said.

The U.S. State Department said Sunday that Blinken will meet with Israel's foreign minister, Yair Lapid, in Riga, Latvia, on Monday during the American's tour of Baltic nations. Israel's prime minister, Naftali Bennett, was in Moscow on Saturday for talks with Putin on the war in Ukraine and spoke again with Putin by phone on Sunday. Bennett also has spoken on the phone multiple times with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- most recently Sunday morning

Blinken will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday evening.

Get in touch

Are you in Ukraine? Do you have family in Ukraine? Are you or your family affected? Email dotcom@bellmedia.ca.

  • Please include your name, location, and contact information if you are willing to speak to a journalist with CTV News.
  • Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.