Moldovan president condemns Russia’s attacks, threats at Munich Security Conference

Russia’s narrative in the case of Moldova has been that we are a small country, a weak state with institutions that are not capable of protecting citizens and delivering results. In the meantime, the country has strengthened its resilience, there has been a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach, and this has helped us. We are aware that we must be part of the EU, if we want to preserve our democracy. Now there is this opportunity and we must use it. President Maia Sandu made statements to this effect at the Munich Security Conference.

During a discussion on preventing and combating hybrid threats, the head of state spoke referred to the attacks launched by the Russian Federation and its attempts to block the European path of Moldova.

“Russia is trying to portray us as a corrupt leadership, saying that choosing the EU is a bad option, that the EU is not for us, because it has different values or does not respect traditional ones. In the end, if you do not vote for people who support Russia, then what is happening in Ukraine will also happen in Moldova. Of course, the economic situation, affected by the war in Ukraine, has not been good, and this has been used by the Kremlin. When the standard of living does not improve, it is easier for Russia to spread these beliefs,” Maia Sandu said.

The official underlined that, on the day of last year’s parliamentary elections, the website of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) had been attacked one billion times in an attempt to block it, which would have discredited the vote.

“In Moldova, election results can be seen in a very short time. Thus, two to three hours after the end of the vote, we already know the choices of the citizens. Imagine if last year, when we had parliamentary elections, at some point the CEC website had crashed and people had believed the narratives spread by Russia, such as that the election results were fake,” Maia Sandu noted.

She referred to the multiple attempts at information manipulation propagated by the Kremlin during the parliamentary elections of last autumn.

“Information manipulation was the most dangerous for citizens. Online, just a single group with 100 or 90 TikTok accounts produced thousands of videos that gathered 35 million views in a country of 2.4 million people. The most serious thing is that there were many such examples,” the president said.

Maia Sandu also presented the situation regarding the illegal financing of pro-Russian parties, behind which stand actors from the Russian Federation.

“Starting from 2023, Russia has created 10 new political parties, in addition to those that already existed, and then tried to bribe voters. It was difficult to trace the money, because they used cryptocurrencies and unofficial channels. We have estimates that Russia spent last year approximately 2 per cent of our country’s GDP to influence the elections. Then there were destabilization activities: paid protests, sabotage and many others. These were the main elements, but I believe that for many countries, information manipulation is the most dangerous part in relation to preserving democracy,” the official noted.

In the context, to counter Russia’s attempts, the Moldovan authorities have enhanced institutional resilience.

“We had a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach, and this helped us. It is necessary for us to be part of the EU, if we want to preserve our democracy. Now there is this opportunity, which we must use. Otherwise, uncertainty leads to vulnerability and Russia can very effectively exploit this vulnerability. In the EU accession process, we are evaluated based on merits and achievements. Moldova is doing everything possible, but we also hope that EU member states and European institutions will support our country’s integration into the EU,” Maia Sandu concluded.

President Maia Sandu on February 13-14 is taking part in the Munich Security Conference, one of the most important international forums dedicated to global security. On the sidelines of the conference, the head of state will hold bilateral meetings with more counterparts and high-ranking officials. The sides will discuss topics related to the regional situation, security cooperation and support for Moldova’s accession to the European Union.

This year, the Conference brings together almost 50 heads of state and government, as well as leaders of major international organizations. The meeting’s agenda includes discussions on global instability, the challenges facing the rules-based international order, European security and defence, the future of the transatlantic relationship, the revitalization of multilateralism, regional conflicts and the security implications of technological advances.