Moldova doesn't face 'imminent' danger from Russia: defence minister
Russian soldiers
Moldovan Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatii said on Monday (March 13) that the country is not in "imminent military danger" but is subject to "hybrid warfare generated by Russia" which would try to "overthrow state power." The minister was speaking with AFP.
Anatolie Nosatii sat down for an interview with AFP at his office in Chisinau, after the latest in a string of anti-government protests erupted over the weekend in the small ex-Soviet nation.
"Imminent military danger against Moldova currently doesn't exist, but there are other types of dangers that affect the country's security -- hybrid warfare," Nosatii told AFP.
Nosatii said that Russia was generating disinformation and creating tensions in Moldovan society to "change the political order, destabilise and overthrow state power"
Pro-European Moldova has repeatedly accused Moscow of plotting to violently topple its government through saboteurs disguised as anti-government protesters, claims which Russia denied.
"The greatest challenge right now is a set of provocations that the Russian Federation is trying to use to destabilise the situation."
On Sunday, Moldovan police arrested members of a network seeking to undermind the country they suspected of being orchestrated by Moscow.
Authorities said they had acted after "receiving information on the organisation by Russian special services of destabilising actions on our territory via demonstrations".
The White House on Friday accused Russia of seeking to destabilise Moldova in order to install a pro-Russian government.
(With inputs from agencies)
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