In early May, Moldovan President Maia Sandu and her Romanian counterpart Nicusor Dan posted a picture together on their respective Facebook pages showing them smiling, sitting next to each other on a Romanian military aircraft. "We are on our way to the capital of Armenia with President Nicusor Dan, where the European Political Community summit will take place," read Sandu's caption.
This was the first time ever that a Romanian and a Moldovan leader had traveled together to an international summit and were greeted together at the airport upon arrival. This symbolic move was likely carefully planned, and illustrated the fact that a reunification of the two countries could be on the cards.
For the first time ever, Romania and Moldova are simultaneously governed by leaders who support reunification. Previously, all Moldovan leaders had rejected rejoining Romania. In Romania, only former President Traian Basescu, in power from 2004 to 2014, favored the step.
Moldovan President Sandu is known for her unionist stance, even though she had not be vocal about it for a long time. That changed when she expressed support for the idea in interviews with international news media. Speaking to the BBC in January, Sandu said she would cast a "Yes" vote if there was a reunification referendum. She reiterated the point to French newspaper Le Monde in late April.
