Victor Ponta: Reunification of Romania and the Republic of Moldova should be determined by referendum, not force
Romania's reunification with the Republic of Moldova should take place exclusively through the vote of citizens from both states, in referendums, and not through imposition or force, claims the independent candidate in the Romanian presidential elections, Victor Ponta. In an interview conducted by journalist Dan Alexe, the former prime minister declared that Romania "is not the Soviet Union" and that the only legitimate path is that of the democratically expressed will of the people.
"The separation of Bessarabia from Romania was a rupture, a territorial abduction. I am confident that at some point, God will give us a favourable moment to repair that injustice. Romania is not the Soviet Union—it should not take Bessarabia with tanks. There is only one solution: a referendum, both in Romania and in the Republic of Moldova, in which the majority of citizens should express their will", said Victor Ponta, adding that he is a unionist. He said that, in the event of a possible union, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova would immediately benefit from membership in the European Union and NATO.
In addition, Ponta argues that Romania, although it cannot guarantee the security of Ukraine, has both the military capacity and the moral obligation to guarantee the security of the Republic of Moldova. He believes that this objective should be pursued through a direct agreement with the United States, which would provide a clear and stable framework for protection against regional threats.
"Romania must negotiate directly with the US Government a Romania-Moldova military security partnership, guaranteed by the US", the former prime minister said. In his opinion, this partnership could work according to the model of cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan, considered by Ponta "very effective, which was put into practice between a NATO country - Turkey and a non-NATO country - Azerbaijan".
"Every leader of a country must be concerned first and foremost with the security of his country. I believe that Romania does not have the power to get involved and guarantee Ukraine, but it has the power to guarantee the military security of the Republic of Moldova", Victor Ponta said.
In addition, he mentioned that the security of the Republic of Moldova should not be seen only as an external issue, but as a strategic responsibility of Romania. “As long as we have a Putin regime in Moscow, no country is safe,” Ponta added, explaining that Romania is currently protected not only by its NATO membership, but especially by its strategic partnership with the United States, the Mihail Kogălniceanu military base, and the Deveselu missile shield.
When he was Prime Minister of Romania (2012–2015), Victor Ponta advocated a pragmatic approach to relations with the Republic of Moldova. He promoted the construction of the Iași–Ungheni gas pipeline and supported Moldova’s European integration.
We remind you that Victor Ponta is one of the 11 candidates registered for the presidential elections in Romania.
The first round of the presidential elections in Romania will take place on May 4, and the second round on May 18. According to the law, voting abroad takes place over three days for each round - May 2, 3 and 4, and May 16, 17 and 18, between 07:00 and 21:00. Citizens of the Republic of Moldova who hold Romanian citizenship shall exercise their right to vote at one of the 64 polling stations open on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, 18 of which are in the northern region, 38 in the central region, eight in the southern region of the country, and 20 in Chisinau.
