As a result of the changes witnessed in the United States of America, a harsh dialogue with the Russian Federation will be stepped up and such states as the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Romania will play a particular role in this dialog, ex-deputy minister of foreign affairs, Valeriu Ostalep, expert in international relations and security, stated in IPN’s public debate “What is going on in the U.S.? What will happen in the world?”.
“Is this good or bad for the Republic of Moldova? I think it is good for the Republic of Moldova as a state and it is very bad for the political class of the Republic of Moldova, which does not have know-how to solve its problems. But I said that it is good for the Republic of Moldova because the situation in our country has worsened so much during the last few years that a resuscitation of the agenda, which is objective and does not depend on us, will yet include the necessity of a new vision of the Republic of Moldova as regards the economy, the foreign policy,” stated the expert.
Valeriu Ostalep believes the details of the changes in the U.S. reveal an interest in our region. “More exactly, the figures of the new U.S. administration know at least where Moldova, Ukraine are. This means new methods of geopolitical struggle could be employed in the region where Moldova is situated”.
The former deputy minister considers the new U.S. administration will shift emphases in relation to the Russian Federation and these emphases will have an impact in a number of parts of the world and definitely in the area where the Republic of Moldova is situated. “I expect that new approaches to the case of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Belarus, to what is conventionally called the Eastern Partnership will be adopted towards this autumn. New working methods will be adopted in relation to Brussels,” stated Valeriu Ostalep, noting that a ‘revival’ will be witnessed in relation to Moldova.
In another development, the expert said that it is hard to say how many people in the Republic of Moldova realize the frequently made choices of policies, courses, decisions. “To be able to make a choice, one should be conscious or should at least possess objective information about an event or another. In the case of the Republic of Moldova, most of the people do not know the events discussed here during tens of years. I think most of the people don’t know what European integration means, but they speak about European integration and support it. I don’t say this is good or bad, but I realize that they don’t know what this is,” noted Valeriu Ostalep.
According to him, the U.S. is a world champion in terms of the human rights and freedoms, but also as regards a hyperinflation of possibilities to influence and manipulate. “I think it is very hard to clarity all these processes in the current conditions in the U.S., even for the locals,” stated Valeriu Ostalep, adding the instruments used in the 21st century are manipulative and the contradictions between the two sides in the U.S. will advance and this is a very big problem.
The public debate “What is going on in the U.S.? What will happen in the world?” is the 166th installment of the series “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.