Ex-Premier Ion Sturza made less optimistic forecasts, saying the President of Russia Vladimir Putin will not stop and will try to obtain as many territories as possible, while the Transnistrian region becomes an extremely dangerous element of this puzzle. Sturza noted the expansionist ambitions of Moscow generate concern all over the world and the pacifist message of the Moldovan administration in the context of the regional crisis is welcome, IPN reports.
The former Prime Minister said the security risks in the region are now similar in size to those of the cold war period. He made the statements after the Verkhovna Rada on February 23 declared a state of emergency in Ukraine for a 30-day period.
“There are few chances that Putin will stop where he stopped. The Russians will not stop in Ukraine or will at least try to unite the southern regions. It goes to that Novorossyia that Surkov drew and this is not something imaginary and coverts the regions or Kharkov, Luhansk up to Odessa and there is only one step up to Transnistria. We have reasons to be concerned if we are responsible citizens of the civilized world. We are now in a new cold war, but there is an irrational man on the other side of the barricade as Putin stopped being a rational partner long ago. He controls the whole elite that he humiliated to show that they are on his side,” Ion Sturza stated in the talk show “Secrets of the Power” on JurnalTV channel.
He criticized the statement concerning the situation in eastern Ukraine of the PCRM-PSRM Bloc, saying that by its message, the Moldovan opposition shifted responsibility for the crisis in the region on the U.S. and NATO, which, as they said, supplied Ukraine with military equipment and taught it not to accept compromises.
“We must not have illusions that we will have our own way in the relationship with the Russian Federation and we will be able to maneuver so as to protect our economic and security interests. The message of the administration of the Republic of Moldova is pacifist and points to a balanced policy and coincides with the expectations of Moldovans. We have the Transnistrian issue that is dangerous in the current context and we have this state of spirit in a divided society. I think one third of the citizens, if not half of them, sympathizer with Putin. The late statement of the PCRM-PSRM Bloc, by which blame is shifted onto the U.S. in this situation, is absolutely embarrassing, but it came by fax from Moscow,” said Ion Sturza.
An extraordinary summit of the EU leaders is to be held with physical presence in Brussels today to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Ahead of the event, the President of the European Council Charles Michel said the use of force and coercion to change borders has no place in the 21st century.
