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"We will not leave Moldova alone in the cold or in the dark"

Russia must not win its hybrid war against Moldova, that is the message of the third pledging conference for Moldova, which took place in Paris on Monday.

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"We will not leave Moldova alone in the cold or in the dark"

Russia must not win its hybrid war against Moldova, that is the message of the third pledging conference for Moldova, which took place in Paris on Monday. With 100 million euros in emergency aid, the platform participants want to cushion the immediate effects of the energy crisis and help Moldova through the winter. "We will not leave Moldova alone in the cold, in darkness, or in an impending recession," said Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens). "Solidarity is the value that defines us in Europe and in the EU," she added.

The Republic of Moldova is as big as Baden-Württemberg, but with around 2.6 million citizens, it has less than a quarter as many inhabitants as the south-west German state. Nevertheless, a symbolic power struggle is taking place between Moscow and Brussels in the former Soviet republic, one of the poorest countries in Europe, because Moldova has become the symbolic battlefield of a conflict of values ​​alongside Ukraine. Russia has turned off the gas supply to the republic, which is sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and has been a candidate for EU membership since June. Since October, less than half of Russian gas has flowed to Moldova, which got 80 percent of its pre-war gas imports from Russia. Inflation is 35 percent.

"Our energy vulnerability leads to political blackmail and interference in democracy, in domestic and foreign policy," said President Maia Sandu, whose strict pro-European course is a thorn in Putin's side. The 50-year-old Harvard graduate is the first non-pro-Russian president of the country, which has had only pro-Moscow governments since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The country's delicate situation is further complicated by the self-proclaimed "Republic of Tanzania" on the border with Ukraine, which is occupied by the Russian army.

In the run-up to the Paris conference, Sandu pointed out the critical situation in her country in a guest article for the online magazine Politico and urgently asked for help. According to Sandu, people are prepared to make sacrifices for Europe's democratic values. "But we can't do it alone." She pointed out that electricity prices had quadrupled since the war of aggression against Ukraine, and that gas prices had increased sevenfold. According to Sandu, Moldovans have to spend up to 65 percent of their income on energy.

With this third commitment since the beginning of the Ukraine war, the organizers of the donor platform Germany, France and Romania, along with numerous EU states and 15 international organizations, are signaling that they are united behind Moldova. France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna spoke of "blackmail" and a "hybrid war" that Russia was waging against Moldova with the destruction of Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Germany wants to contribute 32.35 million euros to the 100 million euros promised in Paris. The money is to be used primarily to strengthen renewable energies and energy efficiency, expand the drinking water supply and support Moldova in taking in refugees from Ukraine. France promised additional special aid of 100 million euros. At a first conference in Berlin in April and a second in Bucharest in the summer, a total of 1.2 billion euros in aid was promised.

France's President Emmanuel Macron, noting Russia's attempts at destabilization, said it was Europe's "moral obligation" to stand by Moldova and "Now is not the time to back down or back down," Macron said. Baerbock added that Putin particularly threatens those states “that are on the way to democracy”.

Observers fear that the mood in the country could tilt in the other direction given the economic situation and the approaching winter. According to Washington Post revelations, there is evidence that Russia's FSB secret service is trying to bribe politicians in Moldova and fund a pro-Moscow opposition. Week after week, groups are demonstrating in the capital, Chiçināu, which, according to reports by the Ukrainian secret service, are financed by the Moscow-loyal oligarch Ilan Shor. The extremely rich politician was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for corruption and then fled to Israel.

In addition, tens of millions of dollars are said to have flowed into Moldova from some of Russia's largest state-owned companies. 24 people suspected of having financed the demonstrations have recently been arrested. Including members of the Shor party. According to the Moldovan public prosecutor's office, 20 black bags with 3.5 million lei, the equivalent of around 176,000 euros in cash, were confiscated. "I fear that Moldova is an easier target than Ukraine," said Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Serebrian.

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