"Coalition to fight the Russian Federation": how Moscow reacted to granting Ukraine and Moldova the status of EU candidates

The decision of the European Union to grant the status of candidates to the EU to Ukraine and Moldova is an intra-European affair, said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov in an interview with reporters on June 24.

“These are, of course, internal European affairs.

It is very important for us that all these processes do not bring more problems to us and more problems in the relations of the mentioned countries with us.

There are enough of these problems," he said.

At the same time, Peskov considers it important that in the future there should be no deterioration in relations between Russia and the EU, because "they are already pretty spoiled."

In this regard, he drew attention to the excessive zeal of Moldova, which "wants to become Europeans more than the Europeans themselves" and takes ambiguous measures for this.

“In many ways, she (Moldova. -

) for some reason associates this candidate status with anti-Russianness.

The more they become anti-Russian, it seems to them that the more Europeans should like them.

We would really not want this to happen, ”added Peskov.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference following talks with his counterpart from Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov stressed that granting Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidates does not pose a threat to Russia.

“Our position has always been based on the fact that the European Union is not a military-political bloc.

Unlike the North Atlantic Alliance, the development of its relations with any countries that wish it does not create any threats and risks for us,” the minister said.

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

• AP

• © TASS Host Photo Agency Pool

At the same time, he noted that Russia would follow the further steps of the EU and the actions of the candidate countries.

At the same time, Lavrov said that Moscow has no illusions that the aggressive Russophobic agenda of the EU will change in the near future.

“The European Union proves that it does not want any unifying tendencies in Europe, that it does not fulfill and is not going to fulfill the existing agreements between the Russian Federation and the EU countries regarding the development of common spaces in the economy, in the humanitarian sphere, in the field of internal security,” the head of state stated. Russian Foreign Ministry.

According to the minister, the path chosen by the Europeans today is reminiscent of the situation at the beginning of World War II, when a whole coalition was formed against the USSR.

“Now, in the same way, including the EU, together with NATO, they are gathering a modern coalition to fight, and by and large “war” with the Russian Federation.

We will look at all this carefully, ”Lavrov said in a statement posted on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Long awaited status

Recall that the decision to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidates for membership in the European Union was made at the summit of the heads of state and government of the Commonwealth on June 23.

Thus, these two countries have joined Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania - states that have been waiting for EU membership for more than one year, and some for decades.

In turn, the head of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, on the same day at a press conference following the first meeting of the summit, said that now the newly minted candidates have to do their “homework” in order to move forward on the path to EU membership.

According to experts, the next step for Moldova and Ukraine will be the official launch of negotiations on accession to the European Union, before which the countries will have to fulfill a number of requirements.

In particular, they will be required to implement judicial reforms, achieve success in the fight against corruption and de-oligarchize the economy.

In Kyiv, obtaining the long-awaited status was called the “point of no return”, and joining the EU was inevitable.

In particular, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky made such a statement on June 23 in an address to Ukrainians.

“Today it is recognized: Ukraine is not a bridge, not a cushion between the West and Russia, not a buffer between Europe and Asia, not a sphere of influence, not a “gray zone”, not a transit territory... Ukraine is a future equal partner for at least 27 countries EU,” he said.

In Chisinau, they reacted to the decision of Brussels no less emotionally.

At a briefing on June 24, President Maia Sandu said that the current authorities of the republic are ready to pay any political price for joining the EU.

At the same time, she acknowledged that the current status will not change the situation in the country overnight.

However, she promised her compatriots that in the future, when Moldova receives membership, it will have access to the EU market, which is allegedly the largest and richest in the world.

But Sandu's enthusiasm was not shared by the Moldovan opposition.

The leader of the Shor party, Ilan Shor, compared the status of an EU candidate country to a beautiful but empty chocolate wrapper.

He recalled that some countries have been waiting for membership for more than 20 years.

Moreover, he pointed out, the current status will in no way affect the life of ordinary Moldovans.

“What does this give to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova – pensioners, doctors, teachers, ordinary workers.

Yes, actually, nothing.

Why?

Because no one pays money for this and they won’t give us money for this, ”Shor said in his Telegram channel.

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Henrik Sorensen

At the same time, representatives of some European countries criticized the granting of candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova.

Moreover, it was not approved for Georgia, which applied at the same time as Moldova.

This, in particular, drew the attention of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó.

On his Facebook* page, he called the incident a manifestation of the double standards of Brussels.

In turn, Serbian Interior Minister Alexander Vulin noted that the current decision of the EU means that the main criterion for European integration is the conflict with Russia.

“If the decisive criterion for admission to membership or for starting the accession process is that the candidate country is at war, then Serbia could start negotiations as early as 1999.

But it seems that such rules do not apply to those who were bombed by NATO, and for a quick entry into the EU, you need to fight with Russia, ”RIA Novosti quotes Vulin’s statement posted on the website of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs on June 23.

"Nothing but PR"

Experts interviewed by RT agree that the EU's current move to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidates is purely political.

“The step taken by Brussels is of a political and image nature, demonstrating that the EU allegedly keeps its promise.

However, the future prospects for Kyiv and Chisinau are vague, given that subsequent processes can drag on for years.

Therefore, nothing but PR can be seen here from the European Union, ”said Victoria Fedosova, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, in an interview with RT.

The expert stressed that the EU, despite all its goodwill towards new candidates, does not intend to deviate from the rules established by it for joining the Commonwealth.

At the same time, Fedosova noted that today even some of its own members do not meet the criteria put forward by the European Union, which affects the well-being of the Commonwealth.

“The imbalance in the internal economic system of the EU is now so strong that the admission of new states that do not meet EU requirements will lead to the collapse of this system.

Therefore, Ukraine and Moldova, most likely, will be mothballed in their status of candidate members for the coming years, ”Fedosova believes.

The opinion about the political background of the decision of Brussels is shared by political scientist Alexander Dudchak.

New candidates should not expect that their status will change the practical attitude of the EU towards them, he told RT.

“It was a political move to boost the morale of Russophobic governments.

Thus, Brussels gives them the opportunity to continue brainwashing the population about how well they are doing and what victories lie ahead.

Indeed, according to this logic, the EU will not encourage those countries that have problems and no future, ”Dudchak said.

He also believes that obtaining the status of candidates for the EU by Ukraine and Moldova does not pose any particular threat to Russia.

“There are no risks here, if only because this status does not guarantee any prospects.

However, as Sergei Lavrov correctly noted, the EU thus consolidates its influence on these countries and gains the right to demand that they comply with the Russophobic political agenda.

In other words, the collective West is mobilizing an anti-Russian course among its neighbors, which will lead to further escalation in relations with the Russian Federation,” Dudchak summed up.

* Meta product, activity recognized as extremist, banned in Russia by decision of the Tverskoy Court of Moscow dated 03/21/2022.