For the Republic of Moldova, there is only one great danger – Russia, said former secretary of state of the Romanian Foreign Ministry Iulian Fota. According to him, the Kremlin’s strategy is to destabilize peripheral countries so as to keep them poor and dependent. On the other hand, the West’s strategy is to strengthen its periphery. According to Iulian Fota, those from the West understood that if the neighboring states are poor and unstable, this also has an impact on the Western world, IPN reports.
The former secretary of state of the Romanian Foreign Ministry noted that, at present, the greatest danger for Moldova comes from Moscow, as Russia wants to weaken its neighbors in order to dominate them.
“For the Republic of Moldova, there is only one great danger – Russia. There is a big difference between Russia and the West. I don’t want to say that the West is perfect. There are people, political interests, pettiness, superficiality there too, but the Westerners understood that it is not in their interest to have disorder, poverty, destabilization on the margins, that they will also suffer. The Republic of Moldova and Romania are two border countries. Whatever we do this is our historical destiny. We are at a confluence of spaces and civilizations. The difference between the West and Russia is that the West has no interest in weakening the border and is doing everything it can to strengthen it,” Iulian Fota stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.
The former Romanian secretary of state said that Russia’s policy for three decades has been to put pressure on Moldova and blackmail it with energy weapons and bans on products.
“I was looking at an analysis. The Republic of Moldova received €1 billion from the European Union last year. How many billions of euros have the Russians given in the last 30 years? Rather, they took from the Republic of Moldova, including through improper conditions for exports, sanctions, pressure, exaggerated gas prices. Russia is still afraid of the outside world. That’s why Russia wants a weak, unstable periphery, peripheral countries to fight each other so that it can act as a mediator. Russia’s strategy is 180 degrees different from that of the European Union. The Russians want a poor, subordinate periphery, because in their minds such a periphery does not constitute a danger to them,” said Iulian Fota.
According to the national security strategy adopted by Parliament in December 2023, Russia represents the main threat to Moldova’s security based on three indicators: the war waged against Ukraine, the presence of Russian troops on the territory of the country, and the hybrid attacks.
