Could Moldova be the Kremlin’s new target? – #Moldova #Kremlins #target
On February 28, in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, several people the president of the country Maya SanduHe tore up his ready-made posters and trampled on the pieces of paper that fell on the floor, while the people around him watched them.
The organizer of this latest anti-government action in Chisinau is a group calling itself “Movement for the People”. The supporters of this group are members of the pro-Kremlin Shor party. The founder and chairman of the party, Ilan Shor, in 2014, a total of 1 of the three banks of Moldova billion dollars was found guilty of fraud in 2017 for stealing.
It is claimed that most of the crowd waving Moldovan flags were brought by buses. They call on the new pro-Western government of the country to pay the energy costs of the people and “not to involve the country in the war”.
The previous government had to step down due to public anger over rising prices. President Sandu and others accuse Moscow of behind-the-scenes meddling and pulling the strings of these protesters to destabilize Moldova again.
Sandu recently exposed the alleged coup scenario. Russia President Vladimir Putincan include Moldova in its war against Ukraine, for this in the pro-Russian Transnistrian region Russia There is concern in the country about the use of its troops.
Experts say that the Kremlin could take advantage of Chisinau’s current weakness, even if it doesn’t go that far. Besides, Moscow Kyiv and is also interested in distracting its Western allies.
“Russia He wants to use the turmoil in Moldova to increase fear around Transnistria and to provoke Ukraine … to portray it as an aggressor, as well as to try to create a new crisis situation. – Eastern located in Vilnius Europe Visiting researcher of the Science Center Dionysus to Senus He told RFE/RL.
The West supports Sandu amid growing pressure from the Kremlin. Ukraine with EU and NATO Romania is a member of Moldova Ukraine has a border of 1222 kilometers. in Moldova the president besides representing the country in the international world, it also plays an important role in foreign policy. On February 21 USA President Cho Biden (Joe Biden) in his meeting with Sandu in PolandUSAwill continue its strong support for Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said. And in July 2022 Ukraine together with Moldova was given the status of a candidate for EU membership, and this caused the anger of Moscow.
On February 13, Sandu announced that Russia was planning a coup in Moldova. He said that the Ukrainian intelligence shared information about this with Moldova. Allegedly, to carry out this coup, not only from Russia, but also from Belarus, Serbia and Montenegro military experienced people would be involved.
These people in civilian clothes would take control of the government buildings in Chisinau and take hostages on the street. They would be supported by “internal criminal groups”. According to Sandu, the Shore Party and the group connected to former politician and oligarch Vladimir Plahotnyuk are also included in this list. Plahotyunk fled the country after being accused of widespread corruption and abuse of office.
Sandu said that Russia tried to destabilize the country at the end of 2022, but the local security services thwarted this plan.
US Department of State in response to the accusations of the coup, he said that although the news about this was not independently verified, “it is clear that Russia is not outside the scope of behavior and we are completely with the government of Moldova and the people of Moldova.”
A day later, on February 14, the spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova He denied Sandun’s allegations, calling them “completely baseless and without evidence”. A week later Putin declared that Russia’s document on the recognition of Moldova’s sovereignty in the matter of resolving the dispute around Transnistria cancellation did.
The said decision, which entered into force in 2012, when Russia’s relations with the West were relatively better, “Russia national interests” cancellation was done. This is what the Kremlin website says.
of Moldova UNthe past in ambassador Vlad Lupan He claimed on Twitter that Putin’s move was due to the Kremlin’s “failure to organize a coup”. substitute is coming out.
Although Moldova thwarted the Kremlin’s coup plot, the country remains weak, vulnerable and increasingly tense. February 10Nataliya Gavrilita, the former pro-Western Prime Minister of the country, resigned. He said that Moldova is facing “numerous crises”. Gavrilita said that when her government was elected in 2021, no one expected that it would have to manage “so many crises caused by Russia’s attack on Ukraine.”
An energy crisis arose after Russia suddenly reduced the volume of gas it sold to Moldova last year. The country is completely dependent on Russian natural gas. The resulting energy crisis has led to a sharp increase in prices and public discontent. “Moldova is one of the countries most affected by the war in Ukraine. This is related not only to its physical proximity to both Ukraine and Russia, but also to the fact that it is a small, landlocked country with close ties to both Ukraine and Russia. – writes the World Bank in its latest report on the country.
At the same time, Moldova is facing difficulties due to the influx of refugees from Ukraine. UNAccording to the refugee agency of , the number of refugees registered at the end of January 100 min had passed.
On February 16, the Moldovan parliament Prime Minister Doreen Reseanapproved the new government under the leadership of Resean is Sandu’s former security adviser. Moldova between 2012 and 2015 interior minister has been While the pro-Western “Activity and Solidarity Party” cast 62 votes in favor of the government, the opposition pro-Russian parties, the Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists and the Shore Party boycotted the vote.
Analyst at the Center for Oriental Sciences in Warsaw Kamil Kalus writes that given Resea’s background in the security service and the perceived threat from Moscow, this appointment shows that “strengthening the security of the country” is of greater importance to Chisinau.
The threat to Moldova is very real. February 10a cruise missile launched by Russia from the sea and part of a massive missile attack on Moldova weather passed through its territory and landed in Ukraine. After this incident, Moldova called the Russian ambassador to explain.
Resean yet Prime Minister he had already angered Moscow before he was confirmed to his post. He called for the demilitarization of Transnistria and the withdrawal of the 1,100 Russian soldiers remaining there. His call to the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskovhad caused a reaction. “We would advise our Moldovan interlocutors to be very careful with such statements,” – Peskov of February 20in in Moscow he said at the press conference. He also emphasized that the relations between the two countries are “very tense”.
Transnistria, whose population is mainly Russian-speaking, declared independence from Moldova in 1990, fearing that Chisinau would try to rejoin Romania. In the spring of 1992, there was a short but bloody war between the two sides. The war resulted in Russian troops in Transnistria intervening in the conflict and fighting on the side of the separatists. Russian troops since then, they have remained in the region, describing themselves as peacekeeping forces.
When Moscow launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine a year ago, many in the Kremlin, including US officials of Ukraine He warned that he was eyeing Transnistria in order to create a land bridge near the Black Sea coast. of Moldova national The intelligence agency warned of the same scenario in December 2022 and said that the Kremlin wants to open a second front.