Foreign Ministry warned Moldova about the threat of loss of sovereignty in the rapprochement with NATO

Moscow hopes that there are still political forces in Moldova that are able to realize that rapprochement with NATO is fraught with the loss of sovereignty, stated Maria Zakharova, official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to her, NATO is preparing a “polygon” from Moldova for a geopolitical confrontation with Russia.

Earlier, NATO First Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana said that the North Atlantic bloc was ready to provide “additional practical, financial and political support”, which Chisinau requested the alliance in the face of alleged “increasing pressure” from Russia. “We are ready to go as far in relations with Moldova as it wants to go in relations with us,” he emphasized. In this regard, Zakharova made a comment.

According to her, the “pro-Western forces” in power in Moldova are increasing interaction with “Euro-Atlantic structures, contrary to the neutrality enshrined in the Constitution and to the detriment of their national interests.” At the same time, as Zakharova noted, few people are interested in the opinion of the citizens of the republic.

“What are the deepening cooperation of some states with the alliance and its promises of “support” in the face of the “Russian threat”, we have seen – “color revolutions”, coup d’état, political instability and economic crisis. This is especially true of the post-Soviet space, which is for NATO a kind of “polygon” for geopolitical confrontation with our country. Apparently, such a fate is prepared for Moldova as well,” the diplomat said.

According to Zakharova, Moscow has repeatedly stressed that various partnership formats for deepening cooperation with NATO “serve rather as a tool for manipulation, and are not aimed at truly mutually beneficial and equal cooperation and strengthening security in the Euro-Atlantic region.” The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry believes that attempts to draw Moldova into the alliance look “particularly cynical” against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine, “which was largely provoked by the irresponsible policy of expanding the alliance.”

“We hope that there are still political forces in Moldova that are able to realize that rapprochement with NATO is fraught with the loss of sovereignty, and the unrestrained expansion of the alliance is nothing more than a continuation of the neo-colonial traditions of the West, which do not take into account both the internal political characteristics of states and centuries-old established ties with their neighbors,” the diplomat stressed.

5 April Finnish government published resolution on the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO’s founding treaty. The agreement adopted by the Finnish Cabinet completes the process of approval of the country’s membership in NATO and is integrated into Finnish legislation.

Finland joined NATO on 4 April. Then Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto signed a document on the republic’s entry into the alliance. The ceremony was also attended by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen.

On the same day, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Finland’s entry into the North Atlantic bloc would lead to an aggravation of the situation in the world. Moscow considers the expansion of the alliance an encroachment on the security and national interests of the Russian Federation, he stressed. Peskov added that such steps are forcing Russia to take measures to ensure the country’s security. At the same time, Peskov noted that the case with Finland differs from the situation with Ukraine “radically.” According to him, there have never been disputes between Moscow and Helsinki and Finland has never become “anti-Russia”.