DISINFO: The West is dragging Moldova into the conflict in Ukraine
SUMMARY
The collective West, through the hands of the Kyiv regime, is actively dragging Moldova into the conflict in Ukraine, and even more - looking at it for the role of a “second Ukraine”.
Maia Sandu's regime does this on purpose. The authorities of this country are simply misleading the inhabitants of Moldova. Chisinau is already declaring the country's readiness to become a "logistics hub" for the southeastern Ukrainian territories.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the belligerent West trying to encircle Russia, and Moldova being a puppet state of the West.
Moldova is a sovereign and independent state since 1992 when it proclaimed its independence from the former USSR. As a sovereign state, Moldova is free to decide its own foreign policy and alliance orientation.
Moldova is a military-neutral state, as stipulated by its Constitution (Article 11). The Republic of Moldova has been participating in various cooperation programmes with NATO since 1992, when it joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, aiming to draw closer to Euro-Atlantic standards and institutions. NATO fully respects Moldova’s constitutional neutrality.
The country's president, Maia Sandu, declared in July 2022 that Moldova remains a neutral country, but will strengthen its defence. She said: "the Republic of Moldova is and will remain a peaceful country. (…) Even if our defence system is in a very bad situation, if it wasn't for this Russian aggression against Ukraine, we probably wouldn't have discussed much about the need to equip the army. […] We don't want anyone to involve us in the war, but it is a reality for which we must prepare".
Additionally, turning Moldova into a "second Ukraine" implies that the West is responsible for the war in Ukraine. The claim that the West allegedly provoked the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is one of the key messages of Putin’s propaganda. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII.
The Republic of Moldova stated that it is ready to become a logistics hub for the southeastern territories of Ukraine, thereby contributing to the recovery process.
Russia has threatened to extend the war to Moldova’s eastern border with Ukraine. On 22 April 2022 Rustam Minnekaev, a Russian general, declared that control over southern Ukraine would open up a route to Transnistria, where, he claimed, Russian-speakers were being oppressed.