Russia fomenting protests to overthrow pro-western Moldovan government, claims US
Protests in Moldova
Russian sympathisers are planning to stir up protests in Moldova in hopes of ousting the Moldovan government so that a pro-Russian regime comes to power, the White House official said citing US intelligence reports.
National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby on Friday said that Moscow is wary of the pro-western government in Moldova and hence deployed individuals connected to Russian intelligence in order to foment insurrection.
Kirby said that the US is also seeing signs that Russian government-linked actors could provide training to anti-government demonstrators in Moldova.
The comments come in the wake of recent anti-government protests that hit the streets of the capital Chisinau. It is reported that Moldova’s Russia-friendly Shor Party is behind the agitation.
"As Moldova continues to integrate with Europe, we believe Russia is pursuing options to weaken the Moldovan government probably with the eventual goal of seeing a more Russian-friendly administration in the capital," Kirby said, according to AP news agency.
He claimed that Moscow intends to sow disinformation about Moldova's overall stability.
Kirby backed his claim by specifically mentioning the Russian Ministry of Defence's claim last month that Ukraine has been planning to invade Transnistria, Moldova's Moscow-backed separatist region.
The US official called that claim "unfounded, false", and said that such allegations "create baseless alarm”.
Shor Party's leader Ilan Shor is a Moldovan oligarch currently in exile in Israel. Shor is named on a US State Department sanctions list as working for Russian interests. Britain also added Shor to a sanctions list in December.
On Thursday, Moldova's national anti-corruption agency said officers carried out car searches of "couriers" for the Shor Party, and seized more than €150,000 ($160,000) in a case of alleged illegal party financing by an organised criminal group.
Shor Party holds six seats in the country's 101-seat legislature.
(With inputs from agencies)
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