US Department of State Special Envoy: Russia Will Try to Provoke Protests and Overthrow Moldovan Government

The information released in the joint statement by the USA, Canada and the UK regarding the Kremlin’s attempts to influence the results of the presidential election in Moldova is based on reliable and credible sources. The special envoy and coordinator of the US State Department’s Global Engagement Center said in an interview with TV8. While the Moldovan authorities are thankful for the warning and are taking steps to counter the threats, the opposition is skeptical about the declaration. “All I can tell you about the source of this information is that we are working very closely with the Moldovan authorities, with our friends and partners who made this statement, to use all state instruments to gather information. Rest assured that when we make such a statement, we are not just wasting breath, it is based on real and reliable data. Otherwise, we would not even talk about it. We believe that this is a plan by the Russian authorities to try to defeat the incumbent President of Moldova or to organize a coup d'état if they cannot defeat her in the elections. I can’t give you specific names of who’s involved. They will try to provoke protests and overthrow the government through manipulation, they will try to manipulate the security services, the population, create unrest, that is Russia’s intention. Moldovan voters should know that and make decisions based on that,” said James Rubin, special envoy and coordinator of the US State Department’s Global Engagement Center. A joint declaration by the USA, the UK and Canada became known the day before. It warns of Russia’s attempts to influence the results of the upcoming presidential election in Moldova. The statement says that Moscow is now supporting pro-Russian candidates and “using disinformation and propaganda” in an attempt to stir up tensions in society. Moldova welcomed the statement of the three countries. “People came from their favorite proud capital Moscow with instructions. It is necessary to do this and that. It is obvious that there is an attempt to destabilize the situation. You see the protesters, there is funding, money transporters, disinformation, fakes and so on. We welcome this statement by the three states, which understand the situation, probably from the information available to them. We thank them for the support they give us,” the speaker of the Parliament, Igor Grosu, emphasized. Meanwhile, in a joint statement, the USA, UK and Canada expressed full confidence in Moldova’s ability to counter threats. They reiterated their readiness to continue to hold accountable all those involved “in Kremlin schemes to secretly finance political activity in Moldova” and assured that they would continue to assist in promoting democratic reforms, revitalizing the economy and fighting corruption.