NATO is flooding the Republic of Moldova with weapons in an attempt to boost its partnership with this country. The purpose of NATO is to drag Moldova into a war with Russia. These false narratives are promoted despite the fact that Moldova’s NATO accession is not up for debate.
NEWS: “In the context of the mass hysteria generated by a fictitious Russian “invasion” in Ukraine and the swift deterioration of this country’s economy, it’s worth focusing on the Republic of Moldova and its medium-term prospects. The USA and other NATO countries have already delivered Western-made weapons to the Republic, and Chișinău has signed partnership agreements and mutual deals with military structures in the West. Doesn’t it all sound too familiar?
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We have Maia Sandu getting involved in anti-Russian projects, publicly stating it is necessary to evacuate the Russian peacekeeping corps from Transnistria.
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It all points to the fact that Washington is setting up Moldova to be the next Ukraine. But do Moldovans truly need that? Instead of NATO and EU membership, the Ukrainians saw their economy torn to shreds, their living standards plummeting to a minimum, all their capital drained and their chances for a better future sinking into uncertainty.”
NARRATIVES: 1. Close relations with the West are detrimental to countries like Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. 2. The Republic of Moldova risks ending up in a position similar to Ukraine’s if it pushes for closer relations with the West. 3. NATO and the West are planning to drag the Republic of Moldova into a military conflict with Russia.
BACKGROUND: The Republic of Moldova is an ex-Soviet state facing a frozen conflict, generated by a separatist enclave supported by Moscow. Its citizens are divided on geopolitical grounds – nearly half of the population argues in favor of orienting Moldova’s foreign policy towards Russia and even joining the Eurasian Union, controlled by Moscow, whereas the other half of society, young people and intellectuals in particular, opts for EU accession, including by means of unifying with Romania.
The Eastern orientation is supported particularly by Russian-speaking ethnic minorities and the elderly, USSR nostalgics disgruntled with low living standards, which particularly affect this social category.
The latest rounds of elections (the presidential election of 2020 and the early parliamentary election of 2021) brought landslide victories for the pro-European right, whereas the Russian and pro-Russian media in the Republic of Moldova, affiliated to the pro-Moscow left-wing, have amped up propaganda and disinformation efforts, publicizing the dangers of Moldova’s Western integration, such as the risk the country should be dragged into a war with Russia if it joins NATO. The pro-European administration is depicted as being under the full control of the anti-Russian West and oblivious to the interests of its own citizens.
PURPOSE: To spread fear about the danger of Moldova being involved in a large-scale military conflict (against Russia) if the country pursues a Euro-Atlantic integration path.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The Government in Chișinău did not sign any agreement with “Western military structures”, meaning NATO. The Cabinet merely adopted an action plan jointly agreed with NATO for the 2022-2023 period, which in fact is an extension of a document previously signed in 2006 and currently in force. The action plan provides no additional commitments, neither the possibility of the Republic of Moldova joining NATO, given this country’s neutrality status stipulated by its Constitution.
Another false narrative which the Russian media has been widely promoting is that Chișinău authorities, including president Maia Sandu, are allegedly demanding the evacuation of Russian peacekeeping forces from Transnistria. This narrative is usually accompanied by far-fetched assumptions about the importance of the peacekeeping mission that is under the de facto control of Russia and the separatist regime in Tiraspol, as well as about the risks of the frozen conflict re-escalating. In fact, Chișinău merely demanded the withdrawal of all the munitions stored in a depot in Transnistria and all the Russian troops guarding it.
The warnings regarding the dangers of Moldova’s Euro-Atlantic path, particularly its NATO accession, is another disinformation theme, considering this topic has never been raised at formal level. The narrative about Ukraine’s economic collapse due to its friendly ties with the West is also misleading – the crisis in Ukraine was generated by the Russian Federation, which occupied the Crimean Peninsula and continues to support separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine.
GRAIN OF TRUTH: The Government in Chișinău has opted for the Republic of Moldova’s EU accession.
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