ST. PETERSBURG, June 9. /TASS/. The incumbent Moldovan government, led by President Maia Sandu, is getting ready for a war, former President of Moldova Igor Dodon said in an interview to TASS on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"Regrettably, what Maia Sandu has been doing over the past 12 or 18 months is getting ready for a war. Constant exercises with NATO soldiers are held on the territory of Moldova, which is supposed to be a neutral country. US planes land in airports of Moldova. A transit of unknown classified cargo from Romania, from NATO to Ukraine, is taking place," Dodon said.

"She increased the defense ministry’s budget four-fold. She is buying radars and weapons," he said. "All these factors show that Maia Sandu and her sponsors are preparing Moldova for a war."

"We are alarmed," the Moldovan politician continued. "We do hope that nothing will happen before the presidential election, and that after the presidential election Moldova will have a different president, who will guarantee peace. Maia Sandu is the path towards war."

Dodon fears that Sandu and her policies are similar to measures earlier taken by Ukraine, and this may result in a military conflict.

"All these actions are taking us to destabilization, to war. This is not what we need," the ex-president said.

Dodon believes that major protests will most likely erupt in Moldova after this year’s presidential election.

"They have adopted the practice of some countries - certainly not the best one - and passed a law on voting by mail. Notably, instead of permitting it to all citizens of Moldova regarding of their location, they gave the right to vote by mail only to Moldovan citizens residing in the United States and Canada," Dodon said.

"This is why the West will try to help [Incumbent President] Maia Sandu through vote by mail. This is certainly illegal and unconstitutional," Dodon continued. "Therefore, if these votes help Maia Sandu win, <…> we will not recognize the outcome. There are different options of what we can do. And I do not rule out the possibility of serious protests."

Dodon added that "everything is possible" after the election.

"This is true for both sides. If the opposition’s candidate wins, the incumbent government has several possible scenarios in order to declare these elections invalid. They control the Constitutional Court, which can declare them unconstitutional," he said.

Dodon considrs that Sandu will not be re-elected to the post as a result of an honest competition, and may resort to scheming.

"We are expecting several important political events soon: this year’s presidential election and next year’s parliamentary vote," Dodon said. "All surveys, including Western ones, show that the incumbent president has the least degree of support. In other words, over 55-60% of Moldova’s population want a different president."

"The incumbent president cannot win an honest competition. All surveys show that the opposition will win in the second round," he said. "The only way for her to win is to resort to scheming from abroad."

This year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was held on June 5-8. Its theme was "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." SPIEF was organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.