Russia’s interference in Moldovan politics is most probable compared to Georgia or Ukraine cases, which, besides the European integration, are attracted into strategic dialogues with the U.S. and have political classes and populations inclined to support the entry into NATO, expert in political sciences Dionis Cenușa noted in a feature for IPN Agency.
The expert considers Russia’s minimum goal in Moldova is to create a precedent of reversing or at least of reviewing the pro-European geopolitical course.
The Party of Socialists already became engaged in regular and profound political discussions with Moscow. The President of Moldova negotiates diverse agreements with the regime of Vladimir Putin as regards migration and bilateral trade.
All these arrangements have a temporary character and are synchronized with the parliamentary elections of February 2019. Thus, the Moldovan migrants are seduced to return to Moldova until February 23, before the elections, so as to be able to go back to Russia in March. At the same time, several categories of Moldovan products (fruit, vegetables and wines) can enter again the Russian market, duty-free, but only during the first half of this year, stated Dionis Cenușa.
He noted it is evident that Russia offers President Igor Dodon and the Party of Socialists electoral support so as to increase their chances to hold a victory in the parliamentary elections.
Namely the ease with which the pro-Russian rhetoric can expand from the Presidential Office to Parliament by democratic ways, even if in a powerfully distorted manner, makes Moldova the most vulnerable to Russian factor’s reviving. Neither in Georgia in 2018 nor in Ukraine in 2019, Russia has felt so comfortable as in the case of the parliamentary elections in Moldova, concluded the expert.
