West is arming Moldova to confront Russia, says Moldova’s ex-president - TASS

Moldova’s former President Igor Dodon said on Friday he thinks that the West is supplying weapons to his country to ultimately use it against Russia.

"Why should we need weapons today? If you buy weapons, it is to shoot somewhere at a certain time. Obviously, Western weapons in Moldova will not be meant to shoot at the West <…> It is to shoot at the East," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.

Earlier, the European Union approved financial aid to Moldova amounting 47 million euro, which is make it possible for it to double its yearly defense budget.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in late May that NATO allies were looking at arming Chisinau, along with Kiev, with NATO-standard weapons.

However, the economic situation in Moldova, whose economy largely depends on Russia, is deteriorating quite quickly due, to a large extent, the growth of prices on energy sources Chisinau nevertheless is buying from Russia at prices slightly lower than market average. Moldovans call for negotiations with Russia but Chisinau’s pro-European authorities are in no hurry to do that.

According to Dodon, the West is interested in Moldova only as part of a geopolitical front against Russia and cares little about its economic interests.

"[Moldova’s pro-European authorities] are trying to be nice to be patted on the shoulder by our Western so-called partners: the European Union and the United States. That is why even if [President] Maia Sandu wanted to go to Moscow to reach an agreement on gas, they won’t let her do it. The West wants Moldova to be part of a consolidated geopolitical front," he added.