The modern relations between the Republic of Moldova and Romania () were established after the Moldovan independence from the Soviet Union on August 27, 1991. As of 2026, relations are very close on both a cultural and political scale, on the account of the Western-aligned administration of the Republic of Moldova, led by President Maia Sandu, who is in the office since 2020.
Pan-Romanianism has been a consistent part of Romanian and Moldovan politics in the early 1990s; however, the theme has become marginal afterwards, with no major Moldavian party endorsing it . The official language of Moldova is Romanian, despite an active controversy regarding language name and ethnic identity. Moldovans and Romanians share common traditions and folklore.
The Republic of Moldova represents a part of the former Principality of Moldavia. After the Treaty of Bucharest, which put an end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812, the eastern half was ceded by its Ottoman suzerain to the Russian Empire, which annexed it as the Bessarabia Governorate. The western half remained under Ottoman rule and united with Wallachia in 1859, forming the modern Romanian state.
In 1918, after the Romanian army occupied its territory, Bessarabia became part of Romania, the Romanian administration lasting for 22 years. In 1940, it was annexed by the Soviet Union, most of the province becoming the new Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1991, it declared its independence and Romania was the first country to recognize its sovereignty, but most of the initial momentum for a union was lost following the Transnistrian War.
As of 2025, the two co-exist as bordering states, with high and moderate support for a union in Romania and Moldova respectively. Romania is one of the most important partners of Moldova and a key feature in Moldovan politics. Romania is a member state of the European Union, while the Republic of Moldova is a candidate.
Border between the Republic of Moldova and Romania
The border between the two states was established in 1991, after previously serving as the border between Romania and the Soviet Union since 1945. It is a fully fluvial boundary, following the course of the Prut river for 680.8 kilometres, and a negligible part following the course of the Danube.
The border starts at the tripoint with Ukraine, close to the villages of Criva (on the Moldovan side) and Păltiniș (on the Romanian side), and ends at another tripoint with Ukraine, close to Giurgiulești (Moldova) and Galați (Romania). As neither Ukraine or Moldova are part of the European Union, Romania's border with both represents an external border of the European Union.
The border is spanned by eight crossing points, five of which are road crossings and three are railway crossings. The most important of those are the Sculeni Bridge and Leușeni-Albița Bridge (routier) and the Eiffel Bridge (railway).
History
In 1918, at the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Romanian Old Kingdom. Bessarabia, having declared its sovereignty in 1917 by the newly elected Council of the Country (Sfatul Țării), was faced with bolshevik agitation among the Russian troops and Ukrainian claims to parts of its territory. The president of the Council of the Country called on the Russian Commander-in-Chief in Iași, Dmitry Shcherbachev, to send troops to protect the country. Having no troops, he transmitted the request to the Romanians, whose military intervention was met with protest by the presidents of the Council of the Country and of the provisional government of Bessarabia and by the Soviet of Chișinău.Anarchy in Bessarabia in Charles Upson Clark, Bessarabia, New York, 1927 Bessarabia declared independence from Russia on January 24, 1918, and, on April 9, 1918, Sfatul Țării voted union with Romania: of the 148 deputies, 86 voted for union, 3 against, 36 abstained (mostly the deputies representing the minorities, 50% of Bessarabia's population at the time) and 13 were not present.
The union of Bessarabia with Romania was ratified in 1920 by the Treaty of Paris, which however was not recognized by the Russian SFSR and the United States of America (the United States abstaining due to the Treaty of Trianon).
Romania retained Bessarabia from 1918 to 1940, when it accepted a Soviet ultimatum to give up Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Most of Bessarabia was made into the Moldavian SSR, while its southern Budjak region was given to the Ukrainian SSR. During World War II, Romania (in alliance with the Axis powers) took back Bessarabia and was awarded further territorial gains at the expense of the Soviet Union (the Transnistria Governorate) as compensation for Northern Transylvania, lost to Hungary in 1940. Nonetheless, the defeat of the Axis in the war resulted in Bessarabia returning to Soviet control and the restoration of previous internal borders. Defeated Romania also became a communist state within the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc.
Romanian–Moldovan SSR relations
In August 1976, Nicolae Ceaușescu, his wife, and his son were the first high-level Romanian visitors to the Moldavian SSR since World War II. The Moldavian CP First Secretary Ivan Bodiul met them at the frontier and escorted them to Chișinău. In December 1976, Bodiul and his wife Claudia arrived for a return visit of five days at Ceaușescu's invitation. Bodiul's visit was a "first" in the history of postwar bilateral relations. At one of his meetings in Bucharest, Bodiul said that "the good relationship was initiated by Ceaușescu's visit to Soviet Moldavia, which led to the expansion of contacts and exchanges in all fields."ROMANIAN-MOLDAVIAN SSR RELATIONS By Patrick Moore and the Romanian Section
On November 5, 1978 the Stânca-Costești Hydroelectrical Plant (at Stânca-Costești) on Prut was inaugurated six years after ratification of the basic Romanian-Soviet agreement on its construction. Romania was represented by Ion Iliescu, while Bodiul represented the USSR.
A visit was paid from 14 to 16 June 1979, to the Moldavian SSR by a Romanian Communist Party delegation headed by Ion Iliescu, Political Executive Committee alternate member and Iași County Party Committee First Secretary.
At the Romanian Communist Party's final conference in November 1989, Ceaușescu raised the issue of Bessarabia yet again, denouncing the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 and implicitly calling for the region's restoration to Romania.Charles King, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture, Hoover Institution Press, 2000. p. 106.
Recognition by Romania
Romania was the first state to recognise the independent Republic of Moldova – only a few hours, in fact, after the Moldovan Declaration of Independence was issued by the Moldovan parliament. From the declaration of the Romanian Government made on that occasion it clearly resulted that, in the opinion of the authorities in Bucharest, Moldova's independence was considered as a form of emancipation from Moscow's tutelage and a step towards the reunification with Romania: Proclamarea unui stat românesc independent pe teritoriile anexate cu forța în urma înțelegerilor secrete stabilite prin Pactul Molotov–Ribbentrop reprezintă un pas decisiv spre înlăturarea pe cale pașnică a consecințelor nefaste ale acestuia, îndreptate împotriva drepturilor și intereselor poporului român. "The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Relations on the history of relations with Moldova"
Within a few days agreements were signed for the establishment of diplomatic ties. Within a few weeks, visa and passport-free border regimes were established, allowing Romanian and Moldovan citizens to travel across the border with identity cards only. Already in 1991, Romania started donating books for Moldovan libraries and textbooks for schools and began to offer scholarships to Moldovan students to study in Romanian high schools and universities.
During the War of Transnistria, Romania was the only nation to support Moldova. Transnistria received support from Russia and Ukraine, meaning Moldovan forces were pitted not only against Transnistrian troops but also Russian cossacks and volunteers, as well as Ukrainian volunteers. Romania, however, sent a contingent of volunteers and military advisers to fight alongside Moldovan forces, as well as supplying Moldova with weapons and equipment.
On 14 April 1994, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies adopted a declaration of protest against the decision of the Moldovan Parliament in favour of accession to the CIS. The protest contained serious accusations to the legislative body of the newly established neighbouring country: Votul Parlamentului de la Chișinău reconfirmă, în mod regretabil, Pactul criminal și anulează iresponsabil un drept al națiunii române de a trăi în integritatea spațiului ei istoric și spiritual ... Prin poziția geografică, cultură, istorie și traditii, locul natural al fraților noștri de peste Prut este, fără îndoială, împreună cu noi, în marea familie a națiunilor europene și nicidecum în cadrul unei structuri euro-asiatice.
2001–08 In March 2002, the new Communist president of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, announced that he was ending Romania's "colonial policy" towards Moldova by seeking a closer relationship with Moscow.
In 2007, tension between the two governments increased in context of a resumption of Romanian program for granting some Moldovan citizens dual citizenship. In February 2007, Voronin declared that 10 million "ethnic Moldovans" were being persecuted in Romania by not being allowed to officially register as an ethnic minority. Voronin's statement was criticized in harsh terms by various Romanian organizations. Romanian newspaper Gândul pointed out that this alleged minority was about half the Romanian population. Constantin Iordachi interpreted Voronin's statement as: "Moreover, blaming Romania’s irredenta policies, Voronin put forward his own plans for a Greater Moldova, raising territorial claims to Romania’s province of Moldova." A month later Voronin declared that the "Moldovan language is the mother of the Romanian language. [...] Attempts to call it Romanian, attempts to call it anything else, are attempts to cheat history and deceive one's own mother." In November, Voronin accused Romania of being "the last empire of Europe".
2009 diplomatic row
The civil unrest in Moldova in April 2009 led to a diplomatic row between the countries, after President Voronin accused Romania of being the force behind the riots in Chișinău. "Voronin: România a declanșat revolta de la Chișinău" , Evenimentul Zilei, April 8, 2009 Romania denied all charges of being involved in the protests.
The Romanian ambassador in Moldova, Filip Teodorescu was declared persona non grata by the Moldovan government, being required to leave the country within 24 hours. The following day, the Romanian parliament nominated a senior diplomat, Mihnea Constantinescu, as the new ambassador to Moldova, "Romania names new ambassador to neighbouring Moldova"], Southeast European Times, April 9, 2009 but two weeks later the Moldovan government rejected him without explanation, deepening the crisis."Dispute between Romania and Moldova worsens" , AP, April 24, 2009