CHISINAU, November 18. /TASS/. President Maia Sandu and her Party of Action and Solidarity are dragging neutral Moldova into the EU, which is rapidly turning into a military bloc, Igor Dodon, the leader of the largest opposition Party of Socialists, said.

"The EU is rapidly turning into a military bloc. It has allocated nearly a trillion euros not to economic development, social programs, or the migration crisis, but to purchasing arms. Why is this happening? Because the EU needs an external enemy to blame for its unsolved domestic problems. Maia Sandu operates on the same principle," Dodon wrote in a statement on his Telegram channel. He emphasized that this runs counter to the neutrality enshrined in the Moldovan Constitution and harms social programs.

The former president added that he hopes "the war will be over in the coming months." "Then it will be interesting to see what agenda Maia Sandu and the EU put forward without their usual excuses," he pointed out.

This year, the Moldovan government adopted a new defense strategy naming Russia the biggest threat to the country. The document spoke about increasing defense spending to 1% of GDP and increasing the number of servicemen by 30%, to 8,500 servicemen and 2,000 civilians. It also mentioned rearming and transitioning to EU and NATO military standards, as well as strengthening military cooperation with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Moldovan parliamentary opposition is against militarization and increased military spending. The Gagauz and Transnistrian authorities, as well as Russia, which maintains a peacekeeping operation on the banks of the Dnieper River, have expressed concern about Moldova’s growing military strength.