Blinken to visit Moldova in new Western support

Blinken to visit Moldova in new Western support
by AFP Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) May 24, 2024

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Moldova next week, the State Department announced Friday, in a new Western gesture of support to the former Soviet republic as tensions rise with Russia.

The top US diplomat will hold talks in Moldova on Wednesday on his way to a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague that will pave the way for the alliance's 75th anniversary in Washington in July.

Blinken last visited Moldova in 2022, weeks after Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

The invasion raised fears on the next moves by Moscow, which stations some 1,500 troops in Moldova's pro-Russia breakaway region of Transnistria.

While Moldova has stayed out of direct conflict, tensions have escalated between the government in the capital Chisinau and the separatists, and Russia has been angered by the country's embrace of a Western path.

Earlier this week the European Union signed a security and defense pact with Moldova to help the country defend against Russian threats, including in cyber security.

Blinken will salute "Moldova's progress and its path toward European integration," and highlight "the threat posed by the Russian interference in its internal processes," Jim O'Brien, the top US diplomat for Europe, told reporters.

He said that while the United States did not see an imminent military threat from Transnistria, it was concerned about "ongoing Russian influence operations," in part targeting pro-European President Maia Sandu as she stands for reelection.

O'Brien hailed Sandu's "success in delivering better results for Moldova and integrating further to Europe."

"Obviously the people of Moldova will have a chance to decide. We want them to decide in a free and fair environment with as little interference or disinformation as possible," O'Brien said.

EU members are debating whether to start accession talks next month, which would lead to years of negotiations in which Moldova would be asked to undertake economic and governance reforms.

Blinken's trip comes after Georgia, another former Soviet republic that had sought a Western path, passed controversial legislation to counter "foreign influence," triggering mass protests by Georgians who fear a return to Moscow's orbit.

Blinken said Thursday that the United States would impose visa restrictions and review relations with Georgia in response.