The leaders of France, Germany, and Poland traveled Wednesday to Moldova to mark the country’s 34 years of independence from the Soviet Union, a month before it holds parliamentary elections that its president warns could draw Russian interference.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived in the capital of the European Union-candidate country for talks with pro-Western Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

The leaders attended a public celebration to mark Independence Day, which Moldova proclaimed on August 27, 1991.

Speaking in Romanian, on the stage, in front of a crowd of thousands, Macron said “our European Union will tomorrow be stronger together with Moldova and Moldova will be, inside the EU, stronger and more prosperous".

Poland Prime Minister Tusk added that “Moldova's future is in the EU. Europe is a peaceful project and Moldova is part of this project.".

The European leaders' visit comes a month after Sandu warned that Russia is preparing an “unprecedented interference” campaign to undermine a parliamentary vote scheduled for Sep. 28.

She said “it poses a direct threat to our national security, sovereignty, and our country’s European future". Russia has denied meddling in Moldova.

“We proved to be partners to be trusted and that's why we have such valuable friends," Sandu told the crowd.

"We succeeded in putting Moldova on it's path towards EU integration because we want and we deserve to live in peace, to consolidate our democracy and to bring Europe here, at home," she added.

Brussels agreed to open accession negotiations with Moldova for EU membership last year after granting official candidate status in 2022, the same day as neighboring Ukraine.

Last year, Moldovans voted narrowly in favor of securing the country’s EU path. The same day, a presidential election was held, which secured Sandu a second term. But those two votes were overshadowed by widespread claims of Russian meddling, which Moscow denied.

Moldova’s governing pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity, or PAS, has been in power since 2021, and risks losing its majority in next month's parliamentary election, with no clear pro-European alternatives on the ballot.