The statement was made following a meeting with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, which took place on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of Cyprus’ rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026.
As Volodymyr Zelensky noted, the key issue of the talks was the synchronization of the two countries’ European integration processes.
“The joint path of Ukraine and Moldova to membership in the European Union should be coordinated. We are closely cooperating on this issue, and today we discussed it with President Maia Sandu, first of all the simultaneous opening of the first negotiation clusters”.
The sides paid special attention to the development of bilateral cooperation in the spheres of trade, energy and security. In addition, the sides discussed the strengthening of trilateral cooperation between Ukraine, Moldova and Romania.
Zelensky also expressed gratitude to Chisinau for its support for Ukraine.
“I thank Moldova for its consistent support of Ukraine during the full-scale Russian invasion,” he said.
In turn, Maia Sandu wrote on her page in the social network X (former Twitter) that the meeting with Vladimir Zelensky in Nicosia “was good”.
“We discussed regional security, international efforts to restore lasting peace in Europe, European integration, as well as the bilateral agenda. Moldova supports Ukraine and will continue close cooperation,” Maya Sandu wrote.
Ursula von der Leyen also posted a joint photo with Maia Sandu and António Costa in X, accompanying it with the words: “Moldova’s progress on its way to the European Union is impressive. Moldova has joined the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and the EU roaming area. Today in Nicosia, we continue to work together on the next steps towards EU accession. It is important that all Moldovan citizens benefit from this process”.
