Russian Ambassador to Moldova: It Is a Grave Mistake to Think that We Won’t Respond at All

According to him, the idea that Russia is incapable of responding has arisen before. “That’s exactly what Ukrainians thought at the time,” said Oleg Ozerov. Ozerov stated that Moscow adheres to a policy of restrained diplomacy and does not respond to rudeness with rudeness. “This is the general line of Russian diplomacy. It consists in the fact that, as our minister says, we are polite people, and we do not respond to rudeness with rudeness. It is simply a matter of good manners and civility,” he noted. At the same time, the diplomat emphasized that refraining from harsh rhetoric does not mean refraining from responding. “We will not respond in kind, but that does not mean we will not respond at all. That is a grave misconception,” Ozerov said. According to him, the idea that Russia is incapable of responding had already been raised earlier. “That's exactly what Ukrainians thought at the time, by the way,” said the ambassador, recalling statements made by Ukrainian authorities in 2015. Ozerov noted that Russia is not interested in escalation and is deliberately refraining from retaliatory measures. “Russia could respond, but does not want to do so. Russia is not interested in such a development of events,” he stressed. The ambassador also reiterated the Russian leadership’s position on Moldova. “We recommend that the Republic of Moldova not to follow Ukraine’s path,” Ozerov quoted Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, adding that this was a “very mild and polite way” of expressing Moscow’s position. According to him, the course towards normalizing relations with Chisinau was also confirmed by the Russian Foreign Minister. “We are committed to normalizing relations with the Republic of Moldova and are not interested in escalating these relations,” the ambassador concluded. “Even in Europe today, people are beginning to understand that they have traded one dependency for another. Is dependence on cheap gas worse than dependence on expensive gas? But the most important thing is something else. Any modern economy is based on energy. When, for example, the price of electricity in Moldova triples in a few years, the economy loses its profitability and competitiveness,” says Ozerov.