MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Tuesday hit back at the Moldovan leadership’s anti-Russian claims that Moscow "plans to destabilize the situation in Moldova", slamming those statements as unsubstantiated and unfounded.
The diplomat focused on the remarks made by Moldovan President Maia Sandu on February 13 that the country’s agencies had confirmed the Kiev regime’s information on the existence of a "Russian plan to destabilize the situation in Moldova."
"Such claims are absolutely unfounded and uncorroborated. They follow classic sleights of hand frequently used by the US, other Western countries and Ukraine: first, they make accusations citing allegedly classified information which is impossible to verify and then use it to justify their own illegal actions," the spokeswoman stressed.
"We urge the Moldovan authorities to ultimately show statesmanship, not to succumb to external provocations and to be guided in their actions by the interests of their own country’s citizens and by the understanding of great advantages which stable friendly relations with Russia can bring to Moldova," she emphasized. The diplomat also noted that the Russian Federation resolutely rejected "insinuations about Russia’s alleged aspiration to ‘undermine’ the situation in Moldova." Zakharova stressed that, as opposed to Western countries and Ukraine, Russia does not meddle in the domestic affairs of Moldova or other countries. "Russia does not represent a threat to the Republic of Moldova’s security and supports the development of mutually beneficial and equitable bilateral cooperation," she pointed out.