U.S. Vows To Help Moldova Fight Russia's Destabilisation Efforts

Washington D.C./11.03.23/Turan:   The White House on Friday subscribed to Moldova's early concerns that Russia was seeking to destabilise the country, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

John Kirby, the White House's national security spokesperson, told a briefing that Washington shared Moldovan leadership's views that while there was no immediate military threat from Moscow, the Kremlin is planning to install a more pro-Russian government.

"As Moldova continues to integrate with Europe, we believe Russia is pursuing options to weaken the Moldovan government, probably with the eventual goal of seeing a more Russian friendly administration in the capital," Kirby said.

"More specifically, Russian actors, some with current ties to Russian intelligence, are seeking to stage and use protests in Moldova as a basis to foment and manufacture insurrection against the Moldovan government," he added.

The U.S. will therefore "build up on" information provided by Moldova and potentially give the country an additional $300m in energy assistance.

Alex Raufoglu