Russian Foreign Ministry: The West and Kiev are pushing Chisinau to abandon its neutrality

The director of the second department of the CIS states of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexei Polisiuk, told that Western countries and Ukraine are pushing the Republic of Moldova to abandon neutrality, which could end the Transnistrian settlement.

,,Some time ago, exactly the same thing happened with Ukraine itself, in whose footsteps Moldova is being led today’’,Polisiuk said.

The diplomat notes that the neutral status ,,was and remains the key to the internal stability of the republic’’, and many citizens of Moldova, as well as ,,a significant part of the political forces’’ of the country, are in favor of maintaining close ties with the Russian Federation and other CIS states.

,,By rejecting neutrality, Chisinau plays in favor of interests that are against the peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, and we know well that the residents of Transnistria would oppose the approach of an alliance hostile to Russia. Our Moldovan colleagues are more concerned with fulfilling the requests coming from the West, without making efforts to ,,objectively and pragmatically address’’ the risk of undermining the country’s national security, which would not be in favor of the Moldovan people, concluded Polisiuk.

Earlier, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that Brussels supports the dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol on all controversial issues.

,,The European Union fully reaffirms its commitment to support a peaceful and long-term settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, based on respect for the territorial integrity of Moldova and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders, with a special status for Transnistria’’, explained Borrell.

As the head of EU diplomacy pointed out, Brussels continues the dialogue with Moldova on the issues of European integration of the republic. He also added that the process itself is quite intense, demanding and expensive.