(Chisinau) American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, visiting Moldova, reaffirmed on Wednesday his support for this country bordering Ukraine which aspires to get closer to the West, at a time when Washington is worried about progress and interference Russians in the region.
“You are a valuable partner in the region,” said Mr. Blinken, praising the work “under difficult circumstances” of President Maia Sandu, who has resolutely turned her country towards the European Union.
He promised to support “a resilient democracy” in the face of Russia’s attempts to destabilize. “We want to ensure that the Moldovan people can decide their own destiny. This is the issue,” he insisted.
Russian troops have been based for decades in the separatist Moldovan region of Transdniestria, whose leaders called at the end of February for “protection from Moscow”.
This visit of a few hours comes at a time when Russia is reaping victories on the battlefield, reviving the debate around the possibility granted to Ukraine to use or not Western weapons against Russian territory.
Ukraine’s allies will “adapt and adjust” their arms deliveries to guarantee success, the head of American diplomacy declared on Wednesday in this regard.
Hybrid attacks
President Vladimir Putin also seems to be scoring points in Georgia, another former Soviet republic, which definitively adopted on Tuesday a law on “foreign influence”, inspired by repressive Russian legislation.
The United States has already pledged to provide Moldova with $300 million to help it reduce its energy dependence on Russia. They also promised financial support to strengthen democracy and the fight against disinformation before decisive elections in October in this country, one of the poorest in Europe.
Long in the orbit of the Kremlin, Moldova has begun a turn towards the west under the current presidency of Maia Sandu, elected in 2020 and candidate for re-election.
Present alongside Mr. Blinken, she saw in this visit “a strong signal of support for our country and the path of peace and democracy that we have chosen”, also evoking the “direct benefits” of American aid, the supply of natural gas to agriculture.
Mme Sandu regularly accuses Moscow of seeking to destabilize Moldova via hybrid attacks, particularly in the run-up to the October 20 election.
A referendum on membership of the EU must be organized at the same time, the 27 having given the green light to the opening of negotiations with this predominantly Romanian-speaking country of 2.6 million inhabitants.
Mr. Blinken’s previous visit took place a few weeks after the start, in February 2022, of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, when fears of an extension of the conflict were high.
It was then a gesture occurring during a period of “extreme alert”, recalls Andrei Curararu, a security expert and co-founder of WatchDog.md, a Moldovan think tank.
Today, “a visit to this level indicates that Moldova is back on the United States agenda, due to the risks for Moldovan national security” that the current situation creates, according to him.
A week after the EU signed a defense and security pact with Chisinau, the trip could lay the foundations for a similar bilateral agreement with the United States.
The American authorities say they no longer see any imminent threat concerning the 1,500 Russian soldiers deployed in Transdniestria but add that they do not want to take any risks, after a Russian assault in the Kharkiv region (northeast of Ukraine) began there just over two weeks old.
President Vladimir Putin hopes to gain an advantage before weapons sent by the United States to help Kyiv repel the offensive arrive at the front.
Time is running out ahead of the US elections in November, with Republican candidate Donald Trump speaking of his desire to strike a deal on Ukraine with the Russian president.