Aliaksandr Lukashenka received former Moldovan president and chairman of the Party of Socialists Igor Dodon in Minsk today.
According to Lukashenka’s press service, he asked Dodon about the sovereignty of his country.
“Perhaps this may not sound entirely diplomatic. But as a friend, I would like to hear your answer to a question about Moldova’s sovereignty and independence. Lately, we often hear from various sources that Moldova is ready to become almost part of another state. Frankly speaking, as someone who is in love with your country (you know this well), I hear and perceive this with horror.
I do not want to repeat banal things about how sovereignty and independence always come at a high price and that they are the main thing for any country (you know this better than I do), but I would very much ask you and your supporters not to allow under any circumstances the destruction of such a flourishing, beautiful, albeit small, country as Moldova. It is unlikely you will find such beauty elsewhere in the world as Belarusians always found in Moldova. It was such a quiet, peaceful place (and I think still is) for people to live. We always envied you”, he said.
It should be recalled that Moldova’s current government has taken a course toward integration into the European Union. It recently withdrew from the statutory bodies of the CIS. Dodon’s party is in opposition. It lost the 2025 parliamentary election, in which the Party of Action and Solidarity, which supports President Maia Sandu, won more than 50% of the vote. Sandu won Moldova’s presidential elections twice, in 2020 and 2024.
Lukashenka recalled how in 2018 he and Dodon sowed corn together during a visit to Moldova. He then again argued to Dodon — and through him to Moldova more broadly — that they were not needed by anyone else. Addressing his guest today, Lukashenka insisted that Moldova should not sever ties.
“It was somewhere on elevated ground. And I still have that picture before my eyes: from there I looked at Chisinau and it was all covered in gardens — everything was blooming, the whole city was white.
And now I think: how can such beauty (and Moldovans are such hardworking people, they can move mountains) be handed over to someone else or incorporated into another state. Therefore, I think that for you as a patriot and for your supporters, the main thing is to preserve Moldova for Moldovans.
We understand this — none of us are needed anywhere else. Experience has already shown us that. I do not want to name countries; you know them well. It showed how we are treated. If a bright future emerges somewhere — good. But if it does not, there is no need to cut this umbilical cord and break relations with those with whom you have always found common ground. That is what matters most to me.
And I wanted to say publicly that Moldova and Moldovans are our love. I think that once this was true for the Soviet Union as a whole. We treated your people and your country with great respect. And we do not want to lose this. And I hope you do not either”, he said.
It should be noted that when Dodon was president of Moldova, he expressed admiration for Aliaksandr Lukashenka and even said he intended to reshape the country following the Belarusian model, but later lost the election.
“Therefore, the Moldovan people, a long-suffering people who have endured much throughout their history, are a great people. They should not be humiliated, diminished or pushed somewhere else, even into a very promising and developed country. You have earned your place in the sun. You should live there and make your people happy. That is the main thing I wanted to tell you as a friend, taking advantage of our meeting”, Lukashenka added.
Lukashenka also proposed discussing the Eurasian Economic Union. Moldova has held observer status with the EAEU since 2018 but currently does not effectively participate in the organisation’s activities at the official level.
“There is much to discuss. And it is important that this is happening today, because in the coming days we have the EAEU summit. This is the economic core of our community. And it is very important to hear your words and your opinion, which I will, of course, convey to the heads of state whom I will meet”, he said.
He also called for restoring the work of the Belarusian-Moldovan cooperation commission previously established between the two countries.
“Overall, I am glad to see you healthy and energised, I can feel it in many things. And I think you still have much good to do in your country, and not only for your country”, he added.
Igor Dodon also used the occasion to express admiration for Lukashenka.
“You were saying these words just now and I have mixed feelings. Pride, respect and frustration. Pride and respect for you because you said such good, beautiful words about my homeland. And frustration because you understand things that the current president of the Republic of Moldova does not understand. For me as a native Moldovan and citizen of my country (I have no other citizenship), when the president of another country is a greater patriot of Moldova than Moldova’s current president… It hurts me deeply”, he said.
“We fought against the current president. Once I defeated her. The second time she defeated me. But we all swore on the Constitution to defend Moldova and defend our country. After realising that there would be no European integration, that this path means bankruptcy — and current realities in Moldova show this (as the saying goes: after me, let the house burn) — the current president began promoting the idea of eliminating the Moldovan state. For us, this is a major problem”, he continued.
Dodon also said that Lukashenka is popular in Moldova.
“This is not accidental. For us, what Belarus is doing is an example. The policy Belarus is pursuing — both socio-economic and under conditions of a very difficult regional and geopolitical conflict”, he said.
