Radu Marian, Vice President of the Action and Solidarity Party PAS, commented on the scandal surrounding the amendments to the Citizenship Law and stressed that the issue is not new but stems from national security risks that emerged after Russia launched its war against Ukraine. He made the statements during the Rezoomat program on RLIVE TV.
According to Radu Marian, starting in 2022 the Republic of Moldova faced a massive increase in citizenship applications, especially from citizens of the Russian Federation.
“We witnessed a real avalanche of applications, tens of thousands, which represents a national security risk,” the PAS vice president said.
He explained that, under these circumstances, authorities had to change procedures and regulations to prevent situations in which a large number of people with no real connection to the Republic of Moldova could obtain citizenship in a very short time.
“There were even advertisements in which certain individuals promised to obtain citizenship, invoking distant relatives or artificial ties. We could not allow 50,000 new citizens from an aggressor state to appear overnight,” Radu Marian added.
At the same time, the PAS vice president acknowledged that the changes may have generated certain problems or implementation errors.
“I do not rule out that some errors occurred, and we need to correct them as quickly as possible. This is a real issue and we must address it responsibly,” he said.
The statements come amid public disputes triggered by the amendments to the citizenship legislation, which sparked criticism and calls for clarification from civil society and the opposition.