(WASHINGTON) A White House spokesman accused Russia on Friday of seeking to destabilize Moldova, the Romanian-speaking country in the former Soviet Union, including through protests, with the aim of installing a government there for his cause.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told the US executive: “We believe that Russia is seeking to weaken the government of Moldova, certainly with the ultimate goal of seeing a more appropriate administration” at the head of the country.
Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP
US National Security Council Executive Spokesman John Kirby
Moldova, which was previously a sphere of influence of Russia, is now ruled by pro-European authorities, like its neighbor Ukraine, which has been fighting for more than a year against the invasion of Russian forces into its lands.
In June, the EU granted the status of candidates to join Bloc 27 to Ukraine and Moldova.
Washington believes Moscow is seeking to destabilize Transnistria, a pro-Russian separatist region of Moldova.
And this region on the border with Ukraine, which declared its independence but was not recognized by any country, confirmed Thursday that it had thwarted an attack on its leaders that was attributed to Kiev, accusations that Ukraine rejects.
Kirby said that “Russian actors, some with ties to Russian intelligence, are seeking to organize protests in Moldova and use them to foment rebellion against the Moldovan government.”
He added, “We have confidence in Moldova’s democratic and economic institutions and their ability to respond to these threats, and of course we will continue to provide them with strong support.”
John Kirby stressed that the United States has stepped up information sharing with Moldovan leaders about Russian activities in Moldova so that they can “investigate further” and “thwart Russian plans.”
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