That was the view of Eusebiu Slavitescu, a former Romanian diplomat, speaking on TVP World’s World Talks. He argued the CIS has “no strategic value” today and said that, despite its name, “there’s nothing independent about it.” Slavitescu said Moldova’s pro-European direction is now unmistakable, even as Russia seeks to influence the country through “disinformation, hybrid warfare and all of that.” He described the CIS as a tool designed “to keep… former Soviet satellites… on a leash,” adding that “there’s no independence that Russia likes in its neighbors.” While the host raised the prospect that leaving the CIS could reopen debate about NATO, Slavitescu downplayed that as an immediate priority, noting that “NATO already has a liaison office in Chișinău.” Instead, he said the “focus right now for Moldova is European integration,” pointing to “real, palpable… results,” including “visa-free liberalization” and support from EU institutions and Romania. He added that “there’s already some form of practical union happening” between Moldova and Romania, with deeper links in “the energy sector” and infrastructure. On Ukraine, Slavitescu rejected talk of a quick ceasefire, calling a rushed agreement “nothing but a prepaid ticket for the next war.” He criticized Washington for “putting a lot of pressure on the… victim and not on the aggressor,” even as Russia continues to strike Ukrainian cities. “It continues every single night. Every single night,” he said, asking: “What kind of country that is seeking peace is doing that?” He also dismissed reports of a $12 trillion Russian-backed proposal dubbed the “Dmitriev package,” saying: “Russia’s GDP is $2 trillion… How serious can this be?” Any economic talks with Moscow while attacks continue, he said, are “inherently wrong and inherently immoral.”