Moldova’s pro-Russian opposition parties unveiled a fresh electoral coalition named “Victorie” while vocally opposing President Maia Sandu’s efforts to pursue European Union membership. This announcement came during a gathering in Moscow on Sunday.
The group was formed around the fugitive pro-Russian business magnate, Ilan Shor. He was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison in connection with a massive fraud case where USD 1 billion disappeared from Moldova’s banking system in 2014.
“We are proposing a new path for Moldova. The idea of the EU is a mere phantom that is destructive for our citizens and for the country,” Shor said quoted by Moldovan news outlet NewsMaker.
“Our task is to show people alternatives that have worked over time,” the businessman emphasized, pointing to the need to restore strained relations with Russia.
Moldova’s Infrastructure Minister Andrei Spînu called the newly established group traitors and suggested it had been formed “right next to the Kremlin.”
Sandu has denounced Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine; she also singled out Russia and corruption as the biggest threats to her country and called for an October referendum on joining the EU to be held alongside a presidential election.
In the October 20 election, Sandu will face former president and Socialist Party leader Igor Dodon, who urged voters last week to boycott the simultaneous EU referendum on grounds the president was using it to win re-election. Polls credit Sandu with 35.1% first-round support, compared to 15.8% for Dodon.
Dodon and Communist Party leader Vladimir Voronin, another ex-president, share a common cause with Shor in opposing the referendum. But they have shown few signs of acting in concert.
Romania’s support for Ukraine and firm support for Moldova’s EU membership are the most important sources of tension in Bucharest’s relations with Moscow, Romanian security expert Iulian Fota stated in an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
“Our relations with Russia have never been good, but now there is very little chance for calm, predictable, and pragmatic relations,” Fota admitted.
“Romania wants Moldova to join the EU and to be a new-style country with democracy, rule of law, and a market economy. The Russians don’t want that. While previously, at least formally, the ‘red line’ was the pursuit of NATO, the events in Ukraine in 2014 showed that even rapprochement with the EU is something Moscow does not allow its neighbors to do. Russia attacked Ukraine because Kyiv decided to move closer to the EU,” the expert recalled.
“Moscow wants Moldova in its orbit of influence,” the analyst pointed out, adding that Russia wants Moldova to be formally independent but obedient on key issues concerning foreign and security policy.
“We are proposing a new path for Moldova. The idea of the EU is a mere phantom that is destructive for our citizens and for the country,” Shor said quoted by Moldovan news outlet NewsMaker.
“Our task is to show people alternatives that have worked over time,” the businessman emphasized, pointing to the need to restore strained relations with Russia.
Moldova’s Infrastructure Minister Andrei Spînu called the newly established group traitors and suggested it had been formed “right next to the Kremlin.”
Sandu has denounced Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine; she also singled out Russia and corruption as the biggest threats to her country and called for an October referendum on joining the EU to be held alongside a presidential election.
In the October 20 election, Sandu will face former president and Socialist Party leader Igor Dodon, who urged voters last week to boycott the simultaneous EU referendum on grounds the president was using it to win re-election. Polls credit Sandu with 35.1% first-round support, compared to 15.8% for Dodon.
Dodon and Communist Party leader Vladimir Voronin, another ex-president, share a common cause with Shor in opposing the referendum. But they have shown few signs of acting in concert.
Russia won’t allow its neighbors’ rapprochement with the EURepresentatives of five #Moldovan opposition parties - the Shor movement, Renaissance, Chance, VICTORIE, and the Alternative Force for Saving Moldova - signed an agreement in Moscow to form the "Victory" political bloc.
— Jack Straw (@JackStr42679640) April 22, 2024
The group opposes European integration and supports the… pic.twitter.com/jZTNI6hIrw
Romania’s support for Ukraine and firm support for Moldova’s EU membership are the most important sources of tension in Bucharest’s relations with Moscow, Romanian security expert Iulian Fota stated in an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
“Our relations with Russia have never been good, but now there is very little chance for calm, predictable, and pragmatic relations,” Fota admitted.
“Romania wants Moldova to join the EU and to be a new-style country with democracy, rule of law, and a market economy. The Russians don’t want that. While previously, at least formally, the ‘red line’ was the pursuit of NATO, the events in Ukraine in 2014 showed that even rapprochement with the EU is something Moscow does not allow its neighbors to do. Russia attacked Ukraine because Kyiv decided to move closer to the EU,” the expert recalled.
“Moscow wants Moldova in its orbit of influence,” the analyst pointed out, adding that Russia wants Moldova to be formally independent but obedient on key issues concerning foreign and security policy.
Source: Reuters, PAP
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