Eastern European country of Moldova summons Russian ambassador to expel a member of embassy staff

On Wednesday, Moldova, an Eastern European country, summoned the Russian ambassador to expel a member of embassy staff who was declared persona non grata. The move was in response to actions taken by Russian embassy staff towards Moldovan border guards who denied entry to a delegation led by Rustam Minnikhanov, a Russian politician and governor of Tatarstan. Minnikhanov was scheduled to attend a forum in the semi-autonomous Gagauzia region, which is holding elections on April 30 to name the head of its government. However, Moldova perceived Minnikhanov’s visit as an attempt to interfere with the country’s internal politics. The Moldovan border guard service stated that “supporting a candidate at local elections in Moldova is not a valid reason,” and called on Russian bureaucrats to refrain from interfering in the country’s internal affairs.

Moldova is cautious of Moscow’s attempts to destabilize the country, especially in light of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Last year, Moldova applied to join the European Union alongside Ukraine, partly due to this concern.

According to a leaked document obtained by CNN, Russia has a secret plan to destabilize Moldova over a 10-year period. The document, titled “Strategic objectives of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova,” was written by the Russian security service FSB in 2021. It lays out a 10-year strategy to bring the former Soviet republic nation to its knees. The report is five pages long and is divided into short, medium, and long-term aims, detailing how to bring Moldova into the Russian sphere of influence.

The report suggests that Moscow will support pro-Russian groups in Moldova, utilize the orthodox church, and eventually threaten to cut off supplies of natural gas after making the nation dependent on Russian supplies. When asked about the report, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow knew nothing about its existence. He also said that “Russia has always been and remains open to building good-neighbourly, mutually beneficial relations, including with Moldova.”

Before the release of the report, John Kirby, the USA’s National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, stated that Moscow is wary of Moldova’s pro-western government and deployed individuals connected to Russian intelligence to foment insurrection.