At the current stage, the Republic of Moldova is not exposed to military risks. The main risks that prevail now are hybrid in character, said Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu. According to the official, Moldova now faces a series of challenges typical of the hybrid war. It goes to propaganda, bomb hoaxes and attempts by oligarchic groups to destabilize the situation by paid protests, IPN reports.
Deputy Premier Popescu said that owing to the resistance of the people of Ukraine and the West's support for the Ukrainian army, the front line is kept far from Moldova’s border. He assured that there are now no risks of a Russian invasion of Moldova.
“The Republic of Moldova is not under a military threat at the moment. We have a geographical, regional situation and foreign support that enable us at the current stage to feel not threatened from military viewpoint. This is due to the fact that the Ukrainian army and society have the capacity to maintain the front line far from the Republic of Moldova. At this stage, the main risks are the hybrid, internal ones, including cyber-attacks, bomb hoaxes, paid protesters. These are staged by consent between the Russian Federation and the oligarchs who robbed our people. They work now together to destabilize the situation,” Nicu Popescu stated in the program “In the Context” on the public TV channel Moldova 1.
The official noted that the Moldovan authorities decided to gradually renounce the relations with the CIS and will terminate a number of agreements that are outdated or irrelevant to the country’s European course.
“Within the CIS, the Republic of Moldova signed and ratified over 300 agreements. There are approximately 330 agreements in total. We know that many of those agreements do not function, are not applied or are not respected. Each ministry carries out an assessment and the withdrawal from a number of agreements that are irrelevant to the Republic of Moldova will start gradually. Our objective is to join the European Union. Our foreign relations are subordinated to this objective. In the CIS, there are many irrelevant things or things that are not applied. On paper, we have a free trade area with the Russian Federation. De facto, Russia often introduced major commercial restrictions,” said Nicu Popescu.
The Deputy Premier reiterated that the Republic of Moldova officially demands that Russia should withdraw its troops from the country’s territory and insists on the peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict exclusively by diplomatic methods. He assured the citizens that the authorities aim to keep peace, security and stability on both sides of the Nistru River.
