Spain offers to take in 2,000 Ukrainian refugees from Moldova

Chişinău, Jun 3 (EFE).- Spain is willing to accommodate 2,000 of the 80,000 Ukrainian refugees in Moldova, prime minister Pedro Sánchez said during a visit to Chişinău on Friday,

Sánchez made the announcement during a press conference with Moldova’s Maia Sandu in what was the first visit of a Spanish prime minister to the eastern European nation, a visit that coincided with the 100th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking in Chişinău, which is less than an hour from the Ukrainian border, Sánchez condemned Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “brutal aggression” and expressed his country’s solidarity with Ukraine and its neighbors like Moldova, which are also suffering the consequences of the invasion.

“Spain is with Moldova,” the PM said, adding that he also supported Moldova’s territorial integrity and its internationally-recognized borders, which includes the breakaway state of Transnistria, a sliver of land along the Ukraine border that has Russian army presence.

He also expressed his support for Moldova’s intention of joining the European Union.

Sandu said her country was traversing a “complicated” period, adding that Moldova had called for peace from the early stages of the war next door and had opened its borders to Ukrainian refugees.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also impacted Moldova’s economy, restricting its ability to export and import products across the border. EFE

BB/jt