Moldova is leaving the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) permanently. According to the government's decision on March 10, 2026, the documents regarding joining the organization and approving its charter will be canceled.
Medianews.az reports that Moldova is the third country to break ties with the CIS after being subjected to Russian aggression.
In 1990, Moldova's Transnistrian region declared its secession from the country. In the related armed conflict, Russian troops supported the separatist regime, and since then have controlled the territory.
The CIS was established on the remains of the Soviet Socialist Republics Union (USSR), which was created in 1922 and collapsed in 1991. At the time of dissolution, the USSR consisted of 15 republics: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan.
The foundation of the CIS was laid by the agreement signed on December 8, 1991, in Belarus by the heads of state of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
On December 20, 1991, the Azerbaijani parliament (Supreme Soviet's National Council) adopted a decision not to consider it appropriate for the country to join the Commonwealth of Independent States.
On December 21, 1991, in Alma-Ata (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan signed the December 8 agreement and joined the CIS, and the presidents of these countries as well as Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus adopted a joint declaration formalizing the CIS.
On October 7, 1992, the Azerbaijani parliament (National Assembly) did not approve the country’s accession to the Commonwealth of Independent States.
On January 22, 1993, the CIS charter was adopted in Minsk (Belarus). The document was not ratified by Ukraine and Turkmenistan; since then, these two countries have been considered not members of the CIS, but founders and participants.
On September 20, 1993, the Azerbaijani National Assembly passed a decision on the country’s joining the Commonwealth of Independent States. The matter was resolved on September 24.
On December 9, 1993, Georgia also joined the CIS.
Georgia, subjected to Russian military-political aggression, submitted a note on August 18, 2008, to withdraw from the CIS. According to the organization’s charter, Georgia’s withdrawal from the CIS was formalized one year later – on August 18, 2009.
Georgia’s regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been in the hands of regimes that declared themselves independent states since the 1990s. On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as "independent states." Russia has military bases in both regions.
Ukraine, facing Russian military-political aggression, has been boycotting CIS events since 2014 and has made official decisions toward leaving the organization. Since that period, Moldova has also taken the path to sever ties with the CIS.
Since 2014, Russia has been conducting an occupation war in Ukraine, declaring in that year the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, and in 2022, the incorporation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.
The three countries that broke away from the CIS – Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia – all hold candidate status to membership in the European Union, which unites 27 countries.
The executive body of the CIS is based in Minsk, and its Secretary General post is held by the Russian Sergey Lebedev.
Toğrul Ali,
Medianews.az