The Russian Federation will be present on the territory of the Republic of Moldova as long as there is no certainty that the status of a neutral country will be preserved, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Moreover, Lavrov argues that if some participants in the “5+2” format did not intend to take Moldova to NATO and deprive it of sovereignty, the conflict had long since been resolved. However, Ukrainian journalist Vitali Portnikov says that as long as Russia is in power, its military presence will be found in the territories of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia.
“We will not support attempts to take Moldova and transnistria to NATO. This is categorically excluded. And we will not support attempts to deprive Moldova of sovereignty. As a result of these two principles, which, in my opinion, are fully in the interest of the Republic of Moldova as a state and the moldovan people, I guarantee that we will always be able to find a solution to the transnistrian problem,” Lavrov said.
Sergei Lavrov does not mention, however, that the military troops of the Russian Federation are illegally on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, instead he wishes to make accusations against Western participants in the format ‘5+2’.
“If all participants in the “5+2” format were to act on the basis of those, I believe that the problem would have been solved a long time ago. Unfortunately, this is not so. Some of our western colleagues are pursuing a slightly different agenda, which is driven, first and foremost, by their resilience and the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance,” the Russian diplomat added.
At the same time, Ukrainian journalist Vitali Portnikov believes that Russia will not leave Moldova while it is still in power, but its days are numbered. Portnikov says that for Russia, the cheapness of oil will be fatal.
“A country, whose wealth is built on oil and gas, will find it very difficult to survive during a global economic crisis. Now the real battle for survival will begin. They’ll survive the strongest. Clearly, Russia does not belong to this category. The oil price war in recent weeks is a war to remove Russia from the oil market,” Portnikov writes.
The same author predicts the fall of Russia. ‘It’s obvious that this won’t happen in a few days, months, maybe even years, although you never know. Now we can say that this will definitely happen.”
“The Kremlin will stick to the occupied territories as long as it still has powers, it is Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. It will start saving from her supporters, from propaganda and political prostitutes. We will be surprised how pro-Russian parties, pro-Russian channels, will begin to disappear on social media. Many of the lovers of the “russian world” will dry their love for Russia, because they will cease to come fees.”