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Maia Sandu is preparing the Republic of Moldova for war with Russia, according to a false narrative recently taken over in Tiraspol and promoted by the Russian state press.
NEWS: The president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, is preparing the country for war, declaring Russia as the main threat to security, the director of the Institute of Socio-Political Research and Regional Development in Tiraspol, Igor Sornikov, told RIA Novosti. Previously, Sandu had presented the draft National Security Strategy before the Moldovan Parliament, in which Russia was declared the main threat to the country's security.
[...] He recalled that Sandu first broke agreements within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and then complained that the traditional freight transport routes for Moldovan products had suffered significantly. "Initially, Sandu refuses Russian gas, and now accuses Russia of resorting to energy blackmail, significantly reducing gas supplies to Moldova”.
[...] The relations between Russia and Moldova began to deteriorate after the coming to power, at the end of 2020, of President Maia Sandu, who supports a pro-European policy. The Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, has stated that Moldova is being prepared to become the next victim in the hybrid war launched by the West against Russia.
NARRATIVES: 1. The pro-European government in Chisinau is preparing the country for a war against Russia. 2. Maia Sandu and her government are the reason why the relations with Russia have deteriorated.
LOCAL CONTEXT/ETHOS: On October 11, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, presented the draft National Security Strategy. It defines the threats to the security of the Republic of Moldova and the proposed action lines to strengthen national security and the security of every citizen. The main threats identified in the document are the aggressive policy pursued by the Russian Federation against the Republic of Moldova and against peace in general, as well as corruption.
The National Security Strategy also contains three essential goals: to protect and guarantee the safety of all citizens, to build a strong and respected state, to join the European Union.
Russia is defined as a threat to the security of the Republic of Moldova in the context of the war it started in Ukraine and of several statements by Chisinau and international officials that the Republic of Moldova would be the next target. The war caused by Russia has impacted the Republic of Moldova economically and socially, due to the large influx of Ukrainian refugees, the disruption of transport across Ukraine, the impact of the war on imports from Ukraine, etc.
Representatives of the Kremlin have repeatedly threatened, understatedly or overtly, the Republic of Moldova. The most recent intervention of this kind was that of the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje. Lavrov said that the Republic of Moldova would be the “next victim” of the hybrid war provoked by the West against Russia. In fact, the Republic of Moldova is the victim of a hybrid war launched by Russia against it. It was triggered by Moscow when the power in Chisinau was taken over by pro-Europeans, who have firmly condemned the invasion of Ukraine and have obtained for Moldova the status of a candidate country for EU accession.
PURPOSE: To present the government as conflicted and guilty of the tensions existing in the relation with Russia.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The draft National Security Strategy indeed talks about the need to increase the defense capabilities of the Republic of Moldova, but it does not in any case envisage preparations for war, especially since the country, being small, poor and vulnerable, couldn’t possibly attack Russia.
The Republic of Moldova was indeed forced to identify alternative routes and markets for its goods, not because Maia Sandu came to power, but because in 2013-2014 Russia imposed customs duties on several categories of products it had traditionally imported from the Republic of Moldova, after the latter concluded a free trade agreement with the EU. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the export possibilities have decreased even more.
Russia, which in the 1990s and early 2000s was the main trading partner of the Republic of Moldova, reached a share of less than 4% of Moldovan exports, after several waves of sanctions it imposed once the rapprochement between Chisinau and Brussels started.
The Republic of Moldova was forced to identify alternative sources of gas after the Russian corporation Gazprom threatened on several occasions with the cessation of supply, and in the autumn of last year began to deliver smaller quantities than those stipulated in the contract. Currently, the authorities in Chisinau say they are supplying the right side of the Dniester from other sources, while the Transnistrian region, controlled by a separatist regime, continues to receive gas from Gazprom.
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