Doorstep government at the mercy of Moscow: Secret document allegedly shows Kremlin plans for Moldova

Gate government at the mercy of Moscow
Secret document showing Kremlin plans for Moldova

03/15/2023 12:42 am

Months before the invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is considering how Moldova can move closer to Russia. A leaked paper shows how the country will be subjugated to Moscow’s will.

A strategic document purported to emerge from the Russian presidential administration outlines a detailed plan for the former Soviet republic of Moldova. If the Kremlin has its way, the tiny country will break away from the West — and strive for a future alongside Moscow. The relevant document was leaked to the International Media Consortium, which includes NDR, WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ).

The article, apparently drafted in the summer of 2021, therefore contains concrete plans for how the Kremlin wants to encourage pro-Russian tendencies in Moldova in three phases until 2030. and the European Union. The document appears to come from the same Kremlin experts who, at the same time, were drawing up a document on Moscow’s Belarus creeping connection. SZ and its partners had already reported on this in February.

However, SZ writes that Moscow’s plan for Moldova this time around is less about integrating the country into a Russian-dominated Union state. In the Middle Ages, nothing was at stake but the creation of a vassal state subservient to the will of Moscow. A senior Western intelligence official who has read both documents said Moscow’s goal in Moldova was to “increase pro-Russian influence in the country.” Russia sees the country as a “pro-Russian buffer” rather than part of a new Russian empire. The Kremlin apparently wants to “put an end to the West” and “use all means to prevent the country from becoming a member of the European Union and NATO.”

According to the Kremlin thesis, one of the central Russian goals for the next ten years is to “resist the attempts of external actors to interfere in the internal affairs of the republic, strengthen the influence of NATO and weaken the positions of the Russian Federation”. In this context, the United States, EU countries, Turkey and Ukraine are highlighted. At the same time, Moscow is clearly willing to help when it comes to Moldova’s possible involvement in Russian-dominated organizations such as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) or the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

The war in Ukraine means Moscow has less time to achieve its goals with Moldova, writes SZ. In the European Union and the United States, Moscow wants to quickly establish facts and there is concern that a possible coup in Moldova could put pressure on Ukraine from the West. Among other things, this is indicated by the escalation of the situation in Transnistria vis-à-vis Russia.