According to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Moldova and Ukraine do not meet the EU accession criteria and may destabilize the union.
“The EU has always had rather strict criteria for accession. At the moment it is obvious that neither Ukraine nor Moldova meet these criteria,” Peskov claimed.
The official noted that the decision on the accession of these states to the EU is politicized. “The EU is already falling on bad times - both in terms of the union’s functioning, and in terms of the economy and so on. So, it is clear that this is an absolutely politicized decision. EU wants to demonstrate support to these countries,” the Kremlin spokesman added.
He also emphasized that the decision of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova to join the EU is a desire to demonstrate political will. “To our regret, every time this desire to demonstrate such political will is linked to the intention to further annoy Russia and antagonize these countries towards Russia,” Peskov said.
We shall remind you that on 14 December, the European Council decided to start negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the EU.