To see the human consequences of the situation when a state is not part of the European Union, being only a part of the former Soviet Union, it’s enough to go from Moldova to Romania and back. The Romanian villages look increasingly developed, with new roads, with new agricultural technologies, all kinds of things that lead to a higher living standard. In Moldova, there is nothing of these, stated U.S. essayist and political analyst Robert Kaplan. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, he said that the differences between Moldova and Romania are striking because one country has been in the EU for almost a decade, while the other one remains captive in a sort of post-Soviet underdevelopment, IPN reports.
Robert Kaplan said that Putin’s move into Ukraine puts Moldova in play to a degree is hasn’t been since immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union. “If Russia can solidify its influence in Ukraine, and that is still a big if, Romania and Moldova are more threatened than they were before and it gets more complicated actually. Romania, to annex Moldova or to unify with ethnic Romanians speaking Moldovan, that can lead Russia to formally annex Transnistria and that would create far greater regional tensions than we see now,” he stated.
The essayist does not see how Moldova and Romania can unify. “That would be almost a casus belli for Putin’s Russia. So, what Moldova needs to do first of all, the most important thing, and this is true of Romania as well, is to strengthen its institutions, make them steadier or more transparent and less corrupt, because no matter how many enemies a state may have on the outside, if it’s strong institutionally inside that constitutes the best form of defense,” he stated.
Robert Kaplan also believes that Moldova should seek a stronger association membership with the European Union or some sort of associated membership with NATO. “But it cannot join formally these large institutions of the West without leading to a Russian backlash. Moldova, for reasons of geography and history, sad to say, is somewhat of a neutral buffer state that should not and cannot join either alliance for the time being,” said the political analyst.
He also said that Moldova is close to a political chaos, with a weak, almost nonexistent government, street demonstrations, an incredibly high level of corruption which have led to a complete loss of confidence among the population. Russia would not have to do all that much to undermine it.
Robert D. Kaplan is an American author of books about politics, foreign affairs and security known, among others, for his essays about the reemergence of cultural and historical tensions temporarily suspended during the Cold War.
