The West is trying to save at least something of the Eastern Partnership, this something being Moldova and Georgia. Owing to this fact, Moldova will be protected from possible pressure on the part of Russia. At the same time, the Moldovan government must avoid the traps of possible scenarios designed by Russia to hamper the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU set for the end of this summer. Such opinions were stated by political analysts Oazu Nantoi and Nicolae Chirtoaca in the program “In Depth” on Pro TV channel, IPN reports.
Oazu Nantoi said the Russian administration announced a tender contest for making a study about the impact of the free trade between Moldova and the EU on the Transnistrian region. The analyst believes that Russia understands that the liberalization of the visa regime and the free trade with the EU will take the Transnistrian region out of its sphere of influence and thus takes action.
As to the risk that Moldova may find itself in the same situation as Ukraine, which now faces Russian military aggression, Oazu Nantoi said Moldova does not have politicians promoting the statehood, who would have dealt with the strengthening of the state, national and energy security. “When something similar to the events in Ukraine happens, we find ourselves naked and unprotected and think who can help us. But who needs us? The West is trying to save at least something of the Eastern Partnership and this something is Moldova and Georgia. It will thus protect us, but we didn’t do much to strengthen the state,” stated the analyst.
Nicolae Chirtoaca considers that the government does not realize the possible risks. Early elections are a scenario that Russia may orchestrate in Moldova. “If there is no stable government in Chisinau, the Association Agreement with the EU will not be signed. We are facing the imminent danger of Russia hindering our European course,” he said.
Senior researcher at the Kiev Institute of World Policy Leonid Litra in a telephone intervention said that Russia already tried and will still try to destabilize the situation in Moldova. “It is now preoccupied with what’s going on in Ukraine, but I expect new provocations to be staged in Transnistria and Gagauzia,” he stated.
After the old administration of Ukraine was ousted, the Crimean Peninsula decided to separate itself from the rest of the state. On March 1, Russia deployed military troops in the area on the pretext of maintaining peace until the situation stabilizes. A number of states called on Russia to renounce military action, threatening it with economic penalties and exclusion from the G8 group. On March 3, the Russian Stock Exchange fell, causing losses of several billion dollars in the country.
