Romania's BRAVE MOVE Could Anger Russia
Moldova and Romania were a single state under the name of Greater Romania until 1940.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Moldova has been searching for its own identity, while Romania has been trying to uncover its historical ties once again.
In the wake of a rupture with roots going back centuries, even to the post-World War I period, the story of a common language and culture is coming back to the fore.
With the geopolitical storm caused by the war in Ukraine at the heart of the region, the possible reunification of Romania and Moldova has been much discussed recently.
For a long time, this possibility was considered impossible without tectonic shifts in regional alliances and the international balance of power.
This critical issue has largely been relegated to the background, to the realm of speculative and electoral discourse.
Bucharest and Chisinau signed a series of cooperation agreements, ranging from the granting of 100 million euros in non-refundable development aid to Moldova to the strengthening of partnerships on investment and energy security.
What was once a far-fetched scenario has become a more likely possibility.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Romanian and Moldovan elites suddenly faced a major geopolitical crisis.
At some point, as Russian forces advanced, and with their goals or ultimate success still unknown, voices in both Romanian-speaking states began to raise the possibility of an urgent move towards reintegration.
Supporters of reunification cite several advantages. Among these advantages are the values that Moldova and Romania share - linguistic, cultural and other ties.
There is also the historical precedent that Moldovan territory today is traditionally part of the Romanian cultural and political space and, after the First World War, part of the modern Romanian state.
Experts point to a sense of historical injustice due to the Soviet occupation in 1940 that still needs to be rectified.
Other reasons are more pragmatic. Opinion polls have generally found the most popular rationale to be the social and economic benefits that reunification supposedly brings.
However, the prospect of faster accession to the European Union and NATO is more prominent due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Nevertheless, this possibility is favored by only a fraction of the public opinion in both countries.
In Moldova, the trend shows a slow but steady increase in support for unification.
The trend towards unification in Moldova is currently around forty percent.
However, it is easier to determine the trend than exact figures.
In Romania, the variation is much larger.
Polls in recent years have tended to report a threshold of more than fifty percent of Romanians in favor of future unification with the Republic of Moldova.
Most importantly, if Moldova were to unite with Romania, an additional thirty-three thousand eight hundred forty-six square kilometers would be added to Romania's territory of approximately two hundred thirty-eight thousand three hundred ninety-seven square kilometers.
If the two countries merge, Romania will probably retain the general administration.
We will now discuss this critical issue in detail and take a closer look at how the merger of Moldova and Romania could affect Russia.