Kremlin issues veiled threats towards Moldova, cites Ukraine as warning
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov issued a new round of veiled threats towards Moldova on Oct. 12, warning Chisinau not to suffer from the same fate as Ukraine just weeks after an election that saw Moldova’s pro-European Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) secure a parliamentary majority.
Following the election which saw President Maia Sandu's backed PAS secure over 50% of the vote on Sept. 28, Moldova's government approved a new military strategy on Oct. 8, which designates Russia as the country’s main security threat, warning that the war in Ukraine could "spread to Moldova."
Referring to the new military strategy, Peskov decried Moldova's position as antagonistic towards Russia.
"This is a continuation of a rather confrontational line toward our country, an unfriendly line. The current leadership of Moldova, in our view, is making a serious mistake," Peskov was quoted as saying, according to Russian state media outlet TASS.
"They believe that the policy of building relations with Europe involves complete antagonism toward Russia. One state has already made this mistake. It brought nothing good to that one state," Peskov added.
Although Peskov did not explicitly mention Ukraine, the comments clearly hint towards Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Like Ukraine, Moldova is not apart of the NATO military alliance. Chisinau submitted its application for accession into the European Union days after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
PAS' election victory served as a blow for Moscow, which had been accused of meddling and funding pro-Russian disinformation ahead of the vote.
The EU had warned that Moldova was facing "an unprecedented campaign of disinformation" from Russia ahead of the election. Media investigations also revealed an extensive Russian propaganda and interference campaign in the lead-up to the election.
In the days ahead of the election, the Central Electoral Commission decided to exclude both the pro-Russian Heart of Moldova and Greater Moldova parties from the vote after police, security, and intelligence officials uncovered evidence that the groups were using illegal financing.
Moscow continues to maintain a military presence in Transnistria, which has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since the early 1990s. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that around 1,000 to 1,500 Russian troops are currently stationed in the region.
