Moldova seeks to join European Union (EU) and Russia must accept that this is the country’s choice. Moldovan pro-Western President Maya Sandu said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.
On the eve of the summit with EU leaders and other Eastern European countries, including Ukraine, Sandu accused Russia of making life difficult for Moldova with higher natural gas prices. She said it was also up to the West to help catch criminals who stole Moldova’s money and were free in Europe.
Moldova pays off debt to Gazprom
For gas received in October and November
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The EU’s top diplomat accused Moscow in October of uses natural gas to harass Moldova – an accusation denied by the Kremlin. Sandu described Moldova’s new five-year gas deal with Russia’s Gazprom as “reasonable”, but also said Moscow had given “preferential prices” to its close allies. Her government will challenge Gazprom’s October 30th request for $ 709 million in debts for Moldovan gas, she said.
“When (gas) prices have risen so much, Gazprom has started talking about some debts that they claim have existed since 1994. We believe the debt should be much lower,” she insisted.
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The President of Moldova insists that Russia’s propaganda on television should not be allowed
The country is threatened by massive Russian propaganda
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Sandu said it was worried for the gathering of the Russian army on the border with Ukraine. But at the same time, he believes there are no signs of increased Russian activity in Transnistria – a Russian-speaking province on the eastern side of Moldova has seceded. “Unfortunately, we still have Russian troops on our territory,” she said, calling for their withdrawal from Transnistria, which the UN considers part of Moldova.
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