Administrator Samantha Power at a Discussion with Representatives of the Moldovan Diaspora Community

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you, Ambassador Logsdon. Less than two weeks ago, I returned from my second trip to Moldova in the past six months, where I got to witness, firsthand, Ambassador Logsdon’s commitment to the Moldovan people and the difference it is making.

I also want to thank Scott Hocklander, our Mission Director in Moldova who is tireless and consistently pushes us to keep the needs of Moldovans in mind.

Scott is joined by three Moldovan members of his team, Roman, Igor, and Ludmilla, who like their Moldovan colleagues are bringing their ingenuity, deep understanding, and network of relationships that allow our work to succeed. I know how harrowing and heartbreaking these last weeks have been, but that hasn’t stopped our incredible team.

I want to give a special shout-out to Mihaela Esanu, a former student of mine at Harvard whose leadership serves as a wonderful example of the talent and potential of the Moldovan-American community.

And finally, I want to thank President Sandu, whose historic election and continued fight against corruption continues to inspire, not just us, but the world. Her leadership, and that of Prime Minister Gavrilița, represent a generational chance to usher in a new era of Moldova—modern, peaceful, democratic, free of corruption, and deeply integrated with the rest of Europe.

That is the vision of Moldova President Sandu is working to build; that is the vision of Moldova I believe we all want to see; and frankly, that is the vision of Moldova that Vladimir Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine is undermining.

Each day of this war, Russia’s belligerence is exacting an unthinkable toll on the people of Ukraine. But as we all know well, the consequences of a war do not remain behind any border. Moldova is under massive strain from the aftershocks of the Russian invasion.

After mounting a double-digit rebound in GDP growth last year which led to significant cuts in poverty, the loss of remittances from Russia and Ukraine, along with shuttered trade routes and export markets for Moldova’s goods, is causing real economic pain for the country. Food and energy prices are increasing as they are everywhere, with the cost of gas jumping more than four-and-a-half times.

At the same time, Moldovans have demonstrated incredible generosity in support of their Ukrainian neighbors. Amidst the largest refugee crisis since World War II, nearly 425,000 refugees have either arrived or passed through Moldova—the highest per capita number of refugees of any frontline state in this conflict. Ordinary Moldovans are opening up their homes, small businesses are hiring new talent, and volunteers are organizing relief.

It’s clear that the world may have changed in recent months—but the values and the open-heartedness of the Moldovan people have not.

It is those same values that make Moldova a threat to Vladimir Putin, just as Ukraine’s embrace of the West and strides to fight oligarchs served as a threat. On my most recent visit, I heard the fears that everyday Moldovans carry about the prospect that their country might be next. In a country whose sovereignty has already been undermined by occupying Russian forces, it’s a natural concern.

While I understand the root of these worries, I want to say to you all what I told President Sandu, which is that the US sees no evidence of plans for a Russian attack on Moldova, something we are watching very, very closely.

Nevertheless, Moldova still has so much to lose. And we simply cannot let that happen. We can not let a free and prosperous Moldova become yet another casualty of Putin’s war.

Just yesterday, Secretary Blinken received Foreign Minister Popescu to relaunch the U.S.-Moldova strategic dialogue, an important new chapter in the 30-year relationship between our two countries.

And across several high-level visits to Moldova by Secretary Blinken, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and my own travels, the United States has announced an additional $130 million in support since the start of the war. That is money that will help the country manage the influx of refugees, but it will also spur the country’s continued economic development and reduce its dependence on the Kremlin’s markets and energy.

By way of example, during my trip, I stopped by a fruit storage and packing facility that was being used to store the apple crop of several Moldovan family farms. These are apples that would in past years, go to Russia, and now are at risk of being spoiled. Right now they sit in cold storage, while USAID works feverishly with those farmers to find new markets for them. And that effort is, pardon the pun, bearing fruit. We’ve been pushing our allies in the EU to lift restrictive agricultural quotas and we’re helping producers find new markets for their exports.

That is exactly the kind of support we hope to provide across the Moldovan economy, whether its tourism, winemaking, or tech—creating new sources of income and jobs for the country.

But, we are not alone, of course.

Through it all, the Moldovan-American community—all of you—have banded together to support both Ukraine and Moldova during this crisis. We’ve been awed by the grassroots fundraising, the volunteer efforts to help refugees, and the commitment to supporting President Sandu’s government as she ushers in a new era for the country.

This event is an opportunity to hear from you. To hear how we can work more closely with you, how we can integrate you into our efforts to support the economy and create new markets for Moldova, and how we can channel your generosity and volunteerism toward people who can most benefit from them.

I want to thank you for all that this community has already done to stand for our shared values, and for the people of Ukraine and Moldova, and I look forward to hearing how best we can work more closely together.

Thank you so much.