Foreign Policy Association together with Friedrich­Ebert-Stiftung offer you a newsletter on foreign policy and European integration issues of the Republic of Moldova. The newsletter is part of the “Foreign Policy Dialogue” joint Project. NEWSLETTER MONTHLY BULLETIN AUGUST 2023 NR.8(210) Synthesis and Foreign Policy Debates NTheewnselewttselre-tutel resistedreevaelliozpaet ddebyMMădăădlăinlinNNeceșcușțuuț,ur,eeddaitcotor-rc-ocooordrdinoantaotror TOPICS OF THE EDITION: 1. Natalia Stercul, executive diector of the Foreign Policy Association: Russia still has a series of levers of pressure on Moldova, and on the eve of the local elections this will be increasingly felt 2. Editorial by Alexei Tulbure, director of the Oral History Institute of Moldo va: How Moldovan-Russian relations have developed: from strategic relations to visible deterioration 3. Ion Tabarta, executive director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center: The Russian Federation is trying to widen the electoral pool for certain pro-Russian actors from the Republic of Moldova 4. Analysis by Platform for Security and Defence Initiatives(PISA): Moldovan-Russian relations and security risks in the context of reducing the number of Russian diplomats in Chisinau News in Brief President Maia Sandu received the “Freedom Fighter” Award 2023, offered by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).“We are proud to present the 2023 Freedom Fighter Award to President Maia Sandu for leadership in challenging Russia’s hybrid assault on Moldova, for supporting Ukraine’s struggle for freedom, and for supporting democratic values,” CEPA said on August 24. The Forum of the Center for European Policy Analysis 2023 will be held under the slogan“Winning the war. Winning the peace”. According to organizers, the event will feature a series of debates focusing on the transatlantic response to Russia’s war in Ukraine and how to translate unity into action, strengthen collective security, and achieve continued prosperity. The award will take place during the CEPA Forum from September 26-29, where Maia Sandu is invited as a speaker. The Republic of Moldova and Russia under the sign of the bilateral relations’ freezing The nominal average gross monthly salary of an employee in the Republic of Moldova in 2022 was 10,447 lei, an increase by 16.3% compared to 2021. Even though salaries increased, the number of employees on the labour market decreased by 1.3%, shows the data of the National Bureau of Statistics. In the budget sector, the average gross monthly salary in 2022 was 8,891.1 lei, while in the real sector – 10,954.7 lei(by 23.2% higher than in the budget sector). A total average number of employees of 75.4% were employed in the real sector of the economy, while 24.6% – in the public sector, respectively. The highest salaries were recorded in the field of information and communications, financial and insurance activity, and production and supply of electricity and heat, gas, hot water, and air conditioning. On the other hand, the lowest salaries were received by professionals from the areas that provide accommodation and public catering services, from agriculture, forestry and fishing, and art, recreation and leisure activities. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Dorin Recean, met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Denis Shmigal, in Kiev, on August 24, where they discussed the dynamism of joint projects in the fields of economy, energy, agriculture, infrastructure, and transport. The Moldovan official condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.“Russia and Putin want to restore the Soviet Union and this is becoming more and more obvious to everyone[...] We stand in solidarity with Ukraine. Again, thank you very much for defending Moldova, for defending Europe and also for defending the fundamental values that are the basis of our society”, said Recean. In Kiev, Recean also had a meeting with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The head from Kiev wrote on a social network that the discussions focused on the development of Ukrainian food transit through the Republic of Moldova and the creation of the relevant infrastructure. Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu with his counterpart Serghei Lavrov during the visit to Moscow on 13 September 2019. Source: Nicu Popescu, Twitter Russia remains the main source of risk to the national security of the Republic of Moldova, which is also reflected in the declining level of bilateral diplomatic relations. Moscow and Chisinau are in their most antagonistic period since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The present situation is caused by the change in the paradigm of relations in the two states. If until July 2021, the Republic of Moldova was either in the sphere of total influence of Russia,or in a situation of pragmatic relationship, this changed after the coming to power of pro­European forces. Despite trying to have a polite external relationship with Russia, Moscow became more and more aggressive beginning to press the pressure buttons, a deja­vu that Chisinau felt back in 2013-2014, when it was signing the Association Agreement with the European Union, through the economic Monthly newsletter, No.08(210), August 2023 111 Bucuresti St., Chisinau, MD-2012, Republic of Moldova, Tel.+373 855830 Website: fes-moldova.org. E-mail:fes@fes-moldova.org