The forgeries released in the public space by the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation are serious warnings for the Republic of Moldova, which should always be prepared and find solutions in case of a military challenge from Russian forces. Anatol Taranu, PhD in history, political commentator and former ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the Russian Federation, spoke about this during a public debate at IPN on the topic "What do Russian forgeries count on? With what does Chisinau respond?".
"Previously, Russian officials did not value the relations with the former Soviet republics because these countries were not perceived by Moscow as sovereign and independent states," Anatol Taranu said, referring to the period when he was Moldova's ambassador to the Russian Federation. The former ambassador emphasizes that the former Soviet republics were treated with superficiality by the Russian authorities, and this is still the case today.
As for the Russian Federation's claim that Chisinau could be preparing a military operation in the Transnistrian region, the historian argues that this "is not a diplomatic document in the true sense of the word". The historian categorizes the forgery as an act of hybrid war strategy. But he assumes that the Moscow authorities may have other hidden agendas.
The political commentator reiterates that the Kremlin officials would be aware that the Republic of Moldova will realize that it is a fake, but they will continue to distribute them anyway.
Moscow is "looking for the possibility to explain or justify what will happen in the Transnistrian region in the near future", emphasizes Anatol Taranu, maintaining that this is the way for the Russian authorities to get rid of their own guilt for the possible humanitarian catastrophe in the region by accusing Moldova of a possible military provocation.
According to the former ambassador, the analytical capacity of the authorities in the Russian Federation is rather precarious. However, the Republic of Moldova should always be prepared for any scenario that the Kremlin could put into practice.
Anatol Taranu also points out that the forgery distributed in the public space also indicates a strategy for the next parliamentary elections. According to Anatolat Anatolat Taranu, part of the members of the Chisinau legislature "work as agents of the Russian Federation". The expert came to this conclusion following yesterday's discussions in the Parliament on the Defense Strategy of the Republic of Moldova.
Referring to the falsehood about military action on the territory of Transnistria, the historian recalled that unofficial circles in Ukraine have been talking about a possible military operation against Transnistria that would have been in Ukraine's interest. However, Chisinau has rejected this scenario because in principle it does not want to resolve the conflict with the Transnistrian region by military means.
The public debate on "What do Russian forgeries count on? How does Chisinau respond?" is organized within the cycle of debates "Development of political culture in public debates". IPN Agency is organizing this cycle with the support of the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
