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Russia Today
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
NATO turning Moldova into ‘battering ram' against Russia
NATO is molding Moldova into a military 'battering ram' against Russia while intending to use the former Soviet nation as 'cannon fodder' in a potential conflict, the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said. In a statement on Monday, the SVR accused the US-led military bloc of grooming Moldova for an armed conflict with Russia. 'A decision has been made in Brussels to accelerate the transformation of the country into a forward base on the eastern flank given the advance of Russian forces in Ukraine.' The agency said NATO is rapidly converting Moldova into a 'military testing ground' by upgrading the country's rail lines to European standards, improving bridges to accommodate heavy equipment, and building hubs, depots, and sites for troop deployment. The SVR added that another effort is the modernization of two airfields to host combat and transport aircraft. NATO's plans for Moldova, however, spell doom for the population of the country, the SVR warned. 'Brussels' plan envisions that in the event of a direct NATO conflict with Russia, Moldovans themselves will bear the brunt of the fighting. They are to become 'cannon fodder' in clashes with Russian troops.' According to the SVR, Moldovan President Maia Sandu's administration has yielded the nation's interests to the West, describing her rule as a 'comprador regime.' It added that Sandu is counting on 'material and organizational support from NATO states' to bolster her pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity ahead of parliamentary elections on September 28. The SVR warned that if victorious, Sandu will cancel Moldova's constitutionally enshrined neutrality. Sandu secured victory in the presidential election last autumn, defeating her rival Alexandr Stoianoglo, the leader of the Party of Socialists, who Western outlets frequently labeled as 'pro-Russian'. The vote was marred in controversy, with Moscow criticizing the electoral process as being biased. Russian officials were particularly critical of the decision to open only a handful of polling stations for the roughly 500,000 Moldovans living in Russia, while more than 200 were set up across Western countries, where voters tend to be more disposed towards the EU.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
President says Moldovans hold EU future in their hands ahead of key election
CHISINAU (Reuters) -President Maia Sandu said on Friday that Moldovans hold in their own hands the fate of the country's bid to join the European Union ahead of a September election in which she hopes her pro-European party will maintain its control over parliament. Sandu, who wants her country, one of the poorest in Europe, to join the EU by 2030, was speaking at the end of the 27-nation bloc's first summit with Moldova. Her Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is fighting to retain its parliamentary majority in the election against a challenge from the pro-Russian Socialist Party and its allies. Sandu won re-election last year by a razor-thin margin over a Socialist challenger in the ex-Soviet state lying between Ukraine and Romania. And a referendum asking voters to back the drive for EU membership only just cleared a 50% majority. "Prosperity and peace do not occur for nothing, you have to build them. With collective effort and unity. When citizens are united and choose the correct path and proceed along it," Sandu told a news conference at the end of the meeting. "The European Union is already happening here. The only risk is if we stop. If we decide this autumn that nothing will stop us, then everything is possible." Sandu and her party have denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accuse Moscow of destabilising their country. Russia says many Moldovans want to retain links with Moscow and accuse her of fomenting Russophobia. Opinion polls show that it will be difficult for any one party to secure a majority in the assembly. Should no majority emerge, talks would have to follow talks with other pro-European parties. At the summit, attended by the head of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and Antonio Costa, head of the European Council, the EU announced the disbursement of the first 270 million euro ($318 million) tranche of an Economic Growth Plan. Also announced was an accord to enable Moldovans to communicate by telephone in EU countries without roaming charges, a measure meant to stimulate business contacts.
