CHISINAU -- Moldovan President Igor Dodon has signed a memorandum on cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EES), part of his push for closer ties with Moscow.
Dodon and a senior EES official, Tigran Sarkisian, signed the document in Chisinau on April 3.
"The signing of this memorandum will bring a balance to the economic cooperation between East and West," Dodon said at the signing ceremony.
He said after the ceremony that the document will not be sent to lawmakers for ratification as it is not an international treaty and does not create rights and commitments for the sides regulated by the international law.
Dodon's administration said on April 2 that the memorandum's main goal is to develop Moldova's economic and trade cooperation with the EES.
Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip harshly criticized the signing of the memorandum, saying that it is aimed to undermine efforts to forge closer ties with the European Union.
Dodon "is trying to continue his personal war against the Association Agreement," Filip told reporters on April 3, referring to a Moldova-EU treaty that came to force in July 2016.
He said the move could lead to a "political stand-off and is nothing but a campaign of self-promotion."
Filip said last week that memorandum would have "no legal effect" and that the former Soviet republic's government "will not finance any measures undertaken under this document."
The EES comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to use the EES to bolster Moscow's influence in the former Soviet Union and counter the EU and NATO.
