As long as the Russian army is concentrated in Ukraine’s Donbas region, the Republic of Moldova is not a priority for Moscow, said Vladimir Socor, a senior fellow of the Jamestown Foundation. According to him, the internal weaknesses are more dangerous for the Republic of Moldova than the external ones. The phenomenon of false bomb threats is designed to cause panic in society and the attempts to destabilize the situation inside the country should be ended before the Russian army eventually advances towards Odessa, IPN reports.
The political pundit noted that Moscow copes with the war in Ukraine and with the sanctions imposed by the West with difficulty. Therefore, the Republic of Moldova is not yet on the map of Russia’s expansionist ambitions.
“The Republic of Moldova is not a priority in Russia’s foreign policy. The Republic of Moldova holds very limited interest for Russia, which is even more limited due to the war in Ukraine where Russia hardly copes and it does not want to further worsen the situation by destabilization actions in the Republic of Moldova, especially because the Russian army hasn’t yet come dangerously closer to the Republic of Moldova. Things will change if the Russian army approaches Odessa. For now the possibility of destabilization on the part of Russia remains theoretical only,” the expert of the Jamestown Foundation Vladimir Socor stated in the talk show “Expertise Hour” on JurnalTV channel.
Moreover, Vladimir Socor said the recent bomb hoaxes are designed to arouse the citizens’ distrust in the state institutions’ capacity to cope with destabilization. The government of Moldova should bring these dangerous attempts to stir things up to an end before Russia concentrates its forces in Mykoliv-Odessa region.
“Dodo and Șor and the backers from the shadow are more dangerous in the current situation. The internal weaknesses of the Republic of Moldova are for now more perilous than the external vulnerabilities. The bomb scares are aimed at causing panic, uncertainty, insecurity. The political purpose of these alerts, no matter who stages them, is to underline the internal vulnerability of the Republic of Moldova. As long as the Russians are still far, the internal weaknesses are urgent and should be dealt with before the Russian army comes closer to Odessa. The law enforcement bodies and the SIS should do away with the security threats posed by Dodon and Șor before the Russians eventually move closer to Odessa,” stated the expert.
A record number of bombs scares has been recorded in the recent past. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, a hoax costs the state budget about 60,000 lei. The Ministry suggested harshening the prison sentence and increasing the fines for false bomb scares in a move to discourage the misleading about bomb planting. The bill to amend the Penal Code stipulates a jail term of two to five years, up from at most two years at present, or a maximum prison term of 12 years in case of aggravating circumstances, and a maximum fine of 150,000 lei, up from at most 50,000 lei now.
