With the start of the Russian special military operation (SVO), Western countries are increasingly pushing Chisinau towards closer cooperation with NATO.

This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, speaking at a briefing on June 8.

This activity implies the transfer of weapons to the Moldovan side, she explained.

“Strengthening one’s own security is a sovereign right and an internal affair of any state, but it is unlikely that pumping Moldova with NATO weapons will meet this task, as well as correspond to the country’s neutrality,” Zakharova stressed, recalling that neutrality is fixed in the Moldovan constitution.

Maria Zakharova also commented on the border bill approved by the government of Moldova, according to which foreigners can be involved in protecting the borders of the republic.

In addition, the document provides for the creation of legal conditions for the work in the country of mission of the EU border and coast guard agency FRONTEX (European Union Agency for the Security of External Borders) to manage the flow of Ukrainian refugees.

“I would like to hope that everything will be limited to this, we will closely monitor the activities of this structure in Moldova,” Zakharova said.

  • Maria Zakharova

  • © RIA Novosti / Press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry

Recall that the bill in question was approved by the Moldovan government on May 18.

As the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country, Anna Revenko, said at the time, the measures taken should only ensure the work of FRONTEX employees on the borders of Moldova with Ukraine and Romania.

However, Chisinau is also discussing the possibility of supplying lethal weapons from the EU countries.

This was announced in early June by the Prime Minister of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilitsa.

According to her, while the negotiations are at the level of "preliminary discussions" - the Moldovan side has not yet decided whether it needs such weapons.

"Anti-Russian hysteria"

The ex-president of Moldova, honorary chairman of the Party of Socialists Igor Dodon is convinced that the current president of the country Maia Sandu "and her external masters" are now following the Ukrainian scenario, deliberately provoking destabilization in the region.

“In fact, all these armament processes and anti-Russian hysteria are arranged specifically to justify the presence of NATO troops on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.

The military and political annexation of our country to the territory of Romania is being prepared, with the rejection of neutrality,” Dodon wrote in his Telegram channel on June 8.

This will be done "without asking for the opinion of citizens, contrary to constitutional norms," ​​the ex-president of Moldova is sure.

According to him, a "technical and political-military association with a neighboring country" is being prepared for Moldova.

“This is a very erroneous and dangerous strategy both for our people and for those who are trying to implement it,” the leader of the Moldovan socialists stressed.

  • Border of Moldova and Romania

  • © AP Photo/Sergei Grits

Igor Dodon's statement was commented on in Moscow.

As the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov explained to journalists, the Kremlin does not have detailed information regarding plans to unite Moldova and Romania.

“On the other hand, indeed, we are well aware that there are certain forces in Moldova that are not in favor of unification, but rather the absorption of Moldova by Romania,” Peskov added.

Romanian politicians assure that Bucharest's plans include only assistance to Chisinau in the issue of strengthening the borders.

This was previously stated by the speaker of the lower house of the Romanian Parliament Marcel Colacu during a briefing on the results of negotiations with his Moldovan counterpart Igor Grosu.

“Moldova does not need military assistance, the constitution of the republic provides for neutrality.

But it needs border protection, and here Romania can act as a shield for your country,” the Romanian politician said.

At the same time, the very possibility of the unification of Romania and Moldova is being discussed by Moldovan politicians - earlier Moldovan ex-Prime Minister Iurie Leanca called for this.

In his opinion, in this way Moldova will receive military protection from NATO and the EU.

“This (unification with Romania. -

RT

) can only happen with the support of the people.

When the people say they want it, it will happen.

So far, the people do not want this or there is no critical mass of people supporting this goal, ”RIA Novosti quotes the words of Moldovan President Maia Sandu on the air of the Jurnal TV channel.

Risk factors

As Sergei Lavrenov, head of the Moldovan department of the Institute of CIS Countries, recalled in a RT commentary, today more than 1 million Moldovan citizens have Romanian passports - about 4 million people live in the country in total.

At the same time, polls show that only a third of the Moldovan population supports the course towards the merger of Moldova and Romania, the expert noted.

“The popularity of such sentiments will depend on the situation in the Moldovan economy, as well as developments in the NVO zone in Ukraine.

Many experts call the current government of Moldova one of the most incompetent in the history of the country, the economic situation is very difficult.

It is possible that this crisis was provoked artificially and is designed to push Moldova towards integration with Romania so that the country has no other choice,” Lavrenov said.

  • Maya Sandu

  • AP

The formal pretext for the unification of Moldova and Romania could be the approach of the Russian army to the border with Transnistria from Ukraine, the expert believes.

“Then in Chisinau they will talk about the need to ensure the security of Moldova by merging with Romania.

Of course, it may not come to this, but such an option is clearly not excluded by the current Moldovan government, ”added Lavrenov.

In view of such plans, the Moldovan authorities tried in advance to neutralize their political opponent, the country's ex-president Igor Dodon.

On May 24, the politician was detained on charges of corruption, funding the Socialist Party through a criminal organization, illicit enrichment and treason.

According to the court decision, the ex-president is waiting for the end of the investigation under house arrest.

The politician states that all accusations against him are purely politically motivated.

  • Igor Dodon

  • AP

Experts agree with this assessment.

According to Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dodon's arrest is an attempt by the country's current leadership to eliminate a political opponent by illegal means.

“The arrest of Dodon is simply an element of a non-competitive struggle in Moldovan politics, where even such dirty methods of pressure are already being used,” the expert said in an interview with RT.

According to Sergei Lavrenov, accusing Igor Dodon of treason sounds ridiculous, because he simply pursued a multi-vector policy, maintained ties with Russia in the interests of Moldova.

“The way the Moldovan authorities are now trying to discredit a political opponent and his supporters is clearly borrowed from the experience of neighboring Romania, where they previously squeezed all the opposition out of politics in this way,” the expert explained.

Transnistrian solitaire

The arrest of Igor Dodon followed a month after the aggravation of the situation in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.

On April 25, unknown people fired grenade launchers at the building of the Ministry of State Security of the PMR in Tiraspol.

The next day, in the village of Mayak, Grigoriopol region, as a result of explosions, two of the most powerful antennas of the Pridnestrovian radio and television center, which relayed Russian radio stations, were disabled.

Soon a military unit located near the village of Parkany was attacked.

  • Polling station in Transnistria

  • Legion Media

The Moldovan authorities blamed these events on some "forces within the region" interested in destabilizing the situation.

Soon Maia Sandu called for the withdrawal of the Russian military from Transnistria, speaking at a plenary session of the European Parliament.

According to the President of Moldova, the Russian presence allegedly violates Moldovan neutrality.

Experts believe that Chisinau's attempts to change the status quo in the case of Transnistria threaten dangerous consequences for the entire region.

Now a very tense situation is developing around the republic, which could be aggravated by Moldova's attempts to unite with Romania.

“Pridnestrovie can be drawn into two conflicts at once.

On the one hand, Ukraine can attack the republic, which would like to inflict some damage on Russia.

And in Pridnestrovie there is a Russian peacekeeping contingent and weapons depots.

On the other hand, there is a certain threat from Moldova and Romania.

The most negative scenario could lead to NATO countries being drawn into the confrontation, primarily Romania.

So the situation is becoming very unstable, ”explained Konstantin Blokhin.

In turn, Sergei Lavrenov believes that any attempt to join Moldova to Romania will lead to the final loss by the Moldovan side of not only Transnistria, but also Gagauzia and a number of regions of modern Moldova.

“Let me remind you that back in 2014, following a referendum held in Gagauzia, it was decided that the region has the right to self-determination in the event of a sharp change in the emphasis and direction of Chisinau's foreign policy.

Therefore, attempts to unite in one state with Romania can cost Moldova dearly, ”the expert summed up.