After the European Commission pledged for Moldova to get official EU candidate status, Lavrov responded saying the West is trying to turn Moldova into a ''second Ukraine''. The Russian Foreign Minister also accused Moldova of using its EU ascension as a tool to blackmail Russia to make concessions, such as selling cheaper gas or staying in the CIS (the Russian equivalent of EU). Besides this, he said that unlike Georgia, Moldova seeks a reunification with ''the Motherland'' (ie Romania).