Russia denies plans to ‘destabilize’ Moldova

Russia on Tuesday denied any “plan to destabilize Moldova”, Moldovan President Maïa Sandu having accused Moscow the day before of preparing “violent attacks” in her country, a pro-Western neighbor of Ukraine.

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The assertions of the Moldovan leader “are absolutely unfounded and without proof”, denounced the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release.

He also accuses Ukraine of being the source of this “disinformation” to fuel tensions between Moscow and Chisinau.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that his country had intercepted documents showing a plan to destabilize Moldova.

“The plan provides for attacks on state buildings and hostage-taking by saboteurs with a military past camouflaged in civilian clothes,” Maïa Sandu told reporters on Monday.

In this context, she announced a legislative project aimed at giving prosecutors and intelligence services “the necessary instruments to effectively combat risks to national security”.

Reacting to this information, the United States on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for Moldova.

“We are deeply concerned by reports of a plot by Russia to destabilize the democratically elected government of Moldova,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

He further insisted that Washington was working with Moldovan authorities to “counter Russia’s long-term efforts to undermine the country’s democratic institutions.”

Moldova, a former Soviet republic of 2.6 million inhabitants located between Romania and Ukraine, has taken a pro-Western turn in recent years, angering Moscow.

The country, a candidate since the summer of 2022 to join the European Union, has been going through crises since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine and has been denouncing for months “Russia’s energy blackmail”, which has decreased by half its gas deliveries.

Chisinau must also deal with the presence of Russian soldiers and a large stock of ammunition in the pro-Russian separatist region of Transdniestria.

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