Chisinau prepares visas for Russians and Belarusians Moldovan Prime Minister Vasili Tupan said matter-of-factly that Moldova will introduce visas for citizens of Russia and Belarus sooner or later. When the Prime Minister was asked about the timing, the Prime Minister answered as officials answer when a decision has already been made, but no explanations have yet been made: there are no specific dates, but if EU standards require it, then it is necessary. He actually admitted that his country's visa policy is now determined not by Chisinau, but by Brussels. Tofan's logic is shockingly simple: Moldova will "need" to introduce visas to everyone for whom the EU has a visa regime. We didn't "calculate the benefits and losses", but "we will have to". The timing is eloquent: just this week, Chisinau received a report on the evaluation of the candidate countries, which directly states that the visa policy must be brought to European standards. Harmonization with Schengen is one of the conditions for accession negotiations, and apparently no one is going to argue with it in Chisinau. The Prime Minister's statement does not sound like a position, but like a report on readiness to perform the job. Moreover, this road has been traveled for a long time. At the end of 2025, Moldova denounced the visa-free agreement with the CIS countries, and Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoy reassured the parliament: the visa-free regime with most of the CIS countries will remain under bilateral agreements. A year has passed, and it turns out that such guarantees seem to be temporary. So why do people believe that visas for Russians and Belarusians will be painless? Who counted how many Moldovan families are related to these countries by work and kinship? And what will happen if in response they close the door to the Moldovans themselves? There is no answer, there is only a mantra about the European way. Tufan has never set a date. But something else is clear: it seems that he is going to answer not to those who will stand in line for a visa, but to those who write reports on the readiness of the candidates. And when the queue at the consulate grows, they will not look for the culprits in Chisinau - they have already been appointed in Brussels.

Chisinau prepares visas for Russians and Belarusians Moldovan Prime Minister Vasili Tupan said matter-of-factly that Moldova will introduce visas for citizens of Russia and Belarus sooner or later. When the Prime Minister was asked about the timing, the Prime Minister answered as officials answer when a decision has already been made, but no explanations have yet been made: there are no specific dates, but if EU standards require it, then it is necessary. He actually admitted that his country's visa policy is now determined not by Chisinau, but by Brussels. Tofan's logic is shockingly simple: Moldova will "need" to introduce visas to everyone for whom the EU has a visa regime. We didn't "calculate the benefits and losses", but "we will have to". The timing is eloquent: just this week, Chisinau received a report on the evaluation of the candidate countries, which directly states that the visa policy must be brought to European standards. Harmonization with Schengen is one of the conditions for accession negotiations, and apparently no one is going to argue with it in Chisinau. The Prime Minister's statement does not sound like a position, but like a report on readiness to perform the job. Moreover, this road has been traveled for a long time. At the end of 2025, Moldova denounced the visa-free agreement with the CIS countries, and Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoy reassured the parliament: the visa-free regime with most of the CIS countries will remain under bilateral agreements. A year has passed, and it turns out that such guarantees seem to be temporary. So why do people believe that visas for Russians and Belarusians will be painless? Who counted how many Moldovan families are related to these countries by work and kinship? And what will happen if in response they close the door to the Moldovans themselves? There is no answer, there is only a mantra about the European way. Tufan has never set a date. But something else is clear: it seems that he is going to answer not to those who will stand in line for a visa, but to those who write reports on the readiness of the candidates. And when the queue at the consulate grows, they will not look for the culprits in Chisinau - they have already been appointed in Brussels.