MOSCOW, October 17. /TASS/. The anti-Russian provisions in Moldova’s new national security strategy are obviously geared to shift responsibility for the failures of the local authorities onto Moscow ahead of the general local elections, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
"Apparently, the goal of the anti-Russian provisions in Moldova’s new national security strategy is to try to shift the blame for the lack of leadership skills of the republican authorities to Russia and justify their new repressions against freedom of speech and dissenting views ahead of the general local elections due on November 5," she said. "This also reveals their desire to receive another batch of financial assistance from their Western sponsors. It makes sense that the document appeared ahead of the fourth meeting of the Moldova Support Platform due to be held in Chisinau on October 17."
The diplomat noted that there is nothing new in this document. "It features a standard set of unfounded allegations accusing Russia of everything under the sun, including 'undermining the constitutional order,' 'energy blackmail,' 'illegally financing' some 'criminal groups,' 'disseminating disinformation and lies,'" she said.
"The cure-all solution against the above-mentioned 'hybrid threats' is to increase financing to the defense and security sector, invigorate cooperation with NATO and its member nations, and to expand the set of tools to suppress freedom of speech and the opposition," Zakharova stressed. "Official Chisinau has repeatedly articulated these narratives motivated by the openly Russophobic position of the country’s leadership and has been conducting an openly anti-Russian policy for the past 18 months. Now, it has decided to enshrine them into this doctrine."
According to the Russian diplomat, Moldova’s new national security strategy is meant to replace the previous 2011 document, which envisaged maintaining mutually beneficial relations and building strategic partnership with Russia, as well as developing bilateral relations on the basis of the principles of sovereign equality and mutual respect.
"Such a U-turn is absolutely ungrounded, as Russia has always shown great respect to the interests of Moldova and the Moldovan people, whom we are linked with by centuries of constructive and friendly relations," she stressed.
She also said that it is regrettable that the current Moldovan leadership, unlike the Moldovan people, is reluctant to see that the real guarantee of national security, development and prosperity is a sovereign, neutral and well-balanced foreign policy.