This is CBS, Eye on the World.

I'm John Batchel.

I welcome Ivana Stradner, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

She's going to guide us to the Black Sea Basin,

where two nations are threatened by the machinations of the Kremlin.

The same men who brought us the Ukraine conflict are looking for more.

Ivana, a very good evening to you.

These are two nations on opposite sides of the Black Sea,

but they're linked by the fact that Moscow wants to possess all of them.

We'll begin with Moldova, a small nation that's wrapped

inside Ukraine territory, and on one bank it has the Danube, on another bank it has the

Danestra, and then Romania's near. It's a rough neighborhood, is what I'm getting at.

However, there's been a democracy there for some time, and there was a recent vote returning

the very popular President Sandu, except it was puzzled why the election was so close.

The referendum supporting Maya Sandu, the president... It was puzzled why the election was so close.

The referendum supporting Maya Sandu, the president, was 50.16 in favor.

Why so close in a place where the president and her party are so popular?

Good evening to you.

Good evening and thank you very much for inviting me to discuss Georgia and Moldova, given that all the attention in the U.S. is right now on the U.S.

elections, but it's not only that the U.S. had elections because both Moldova and Georgia

recently had elections.

And you're absolutely right that actually the referendum also passed, but just with 50.16%.

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