ISW recalled that at the beginning of 2023, Russia carried out a campaign to destabilize Moldova.
Russia may try to distract the international community from the war in Ukraine by destabilizing the situation in Moldova.
This is the conclusion reached by analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Analysts cited one of the latest threats from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who on November 30 said that Moldova is “the next victim of a hybrid war.” ISW believes that this statement has emboldened certain pro-Russian forces to try to sow political instability and division in Moldova.
What's happening in Moldova
The pro-Russian head of the Moldovan region of Gagauzia, Evgeniy Gutsul, on December 1 accused the state energy company of Moldova, Moldovagaz, of blocking Gagauzia from receiving gas from a Turkish supplier, with whom the pro-Russian regional “government” agreed outside state contracts.
Gutsul said that Moldovagaz sells gas per cubic meter more expensive than its Turkish partner and accused Moldova of ignoring the calls of Gaguazia to provide its residents with cheap gas for the coming winter. The day before, Moldovan President Maia Sandu rejected Hutsul's request for a visit because he is a member of the banned Shor political party, which, ISW recalled, Russia used to promote pro-Russian interests and political instability in Moldova until the Constitutional Court of Moldova banned the party in June 2023.
In response to Gutsul’s accusation, the head of Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, said that the company does not have the physical or legal ability to block gas supplies on the border with Gagauzia and that it has not received the necessary documentation to change the supplier of natural gas to Gagauzia.
It is worth adding that Sandu deprived the head of the Party of Regions of Moldova, Alexander Kalinin, of Moldovan citizenship on November 27 because of his broad support for the Russian war in Ukraine, and Kalinin on December 1 announced attempts to “recruit Moldovan volunteers to fight together with the Russian military in Ukraine.”
Related topics:
More news
