President Emmanuel Macron has stressed France's "unwavering support" for Moldova as tensions mount between Chisinau and pro-Russian separatists. Moldova's pro-EU government fears that the breakaway region of Transnistria, on the border with Ukraine, could become the region's next flashpoint.
"France restates its unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognised borders," he said in a joint statement with Moldovan President Maia Sandu as she visited Paris on Thursday.
Moldova, a western neighbour of Ukraine, has a tiny defence budget. Relations with Moscow have long been tense and have worsened as Chisinau backs Ukraine in the war against Russia.
In a separate statement, Sandu said: "France has stood by us, offering us support during the last two years of turmoil caused by Russia's actions. France stands with us as we move forward on our path to joining the European Union."
EN DIRECT | Déclaration conjointe du Président @EmmanuelMacron et de la Présidente de Moldavie, @sandumaiamd. https://t.co/dhpWoclIrn
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Defence neglected
"For thirty years, we didn't pay enough attention to our security," Vaeceslav Ionita, a former MP and now researcher with the Viitorul think tank in Chisinau, told RFI.
He says that Moldova spends a yearly average of 0.4 percent of its GDP on defence, "five times less than NATO standards. And now we begin to understand that Moldova needs more and more to solve our security issue."
Moldova is "a poor country, we have not enough capacity to do it by ourselves", he says. Not only is the country financially weak, he says, but it also lacks "technical and logistical and intelligence capacity".
"For 30 years, we have not paid enough attention to our security."
INTERVIEW with Vaeceslav Ionita, former Moldovan MP and researcher with the Viitorul think tank in Chisnau
France, he believes, can throw Chisnau a lifeline.
"It can save us, because it's not only about money, it is about intelligence, and about understanding what the real security needs of Moldova are," Ionita says.
Tension in Transnistria
Things heated up recently when pro-Russian officials in Transnistria, a breakaway region squeezed between Moldova and Ukraine, appealed to Moscow for "protection".
There is mounting concern that the territory could become a new flashpoint.
Russian still keeps some 1,500 troops of its former 14th Soviet Army, now called the Operative Group of Russian Troops, in the "Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic", as the separatist government calls itself.
Moscow also maintains 400 "peacekeepers" in the region, who were sent there after a bloody war between separatist forces, backed by Soviet soldiers, and Moldovan troops. That conflict led to the region's split from Moldova in 1992.
Last month leaders of the secessionist region, speaking at a meeting of hundreds of officials, asked Russia to help its economy withstand Moldovan "pressure".
The remarks were dismissed by Moldova's pro-European government as a "propaganda event".
Ionita agrees. "Both Russia and Moldova have a lot of problems," he says. "But they're not Transnistria."
He finds Transnistria's request hard to understand. Forty percent of Transnistria's exports go to Moldova, he says. "It's us who help them survive."
Still, no politician in Moldova would support Transnistria's independence. "No one, including pro-Russian politicians, would say such a thing. It's political suicide," according to Ionita.
French deal
Thursday's meeting between Macron and Sandu included the signature of a Chisinau-Paris defence deal, as well as an "economic roadmap".
The two countries reached an initial accord on 25 September that covers training of military personnel, regular defence dialogue and intelligence sharing.
A letter of intent includes the possible purchase of French-made Ground Master 200 portable defence radar, enabling Moldova's army to improve aerial surveillance.
Meanwhile France has also been courting another former Soviet Union country, Armenia.
Yerevan is angry with Moscow, a traditional ally, for its failure to defend their country militarily against Turkey-backed Azerbaijan.
France's Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu travelled to Armenia last month, the first time a French defence chief has visited the South Caucasus nation, in a bid to ramp up cooperation.
