Blinken pledges $135 mn in US aid to Moldova to counter Russian influence

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday pledged USD 135 million in aid to Moldova for energy security and to counter Russian disinformation as the Western-leaning nation struggles to blunt Moscow’s push for influence buoyed by recent successes in its war in neighboring Ukraine.

Opening a short visit to eastern Europe with a stop in Chisinau before travelling to the Czech Republic, Blinken announced the assistance at a news conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

Before Wednesday, the US had provided Moldova with USD 774 million in financial aid since the Ukraine war began in February 2022, USD 300 million of which was earmarked for energy security.

Blinken’s trip, organised around a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Prague, comes amid concerns that Moldova and the former Soviet republic of Georgia are facing renewed threats from Russia.

The trip comes two weeks after Blinken made an unannounced trip to Ukraine to reassure Kyiv of Washington’s support in the face of increased Russian attacks in its north.

There are also signs Russia may be considering new actions in Moldova, where it has 1,500 troops stationed in the disputed territory of Transnistria, and is behind anti-Western moves in Georgia that the US believes run counter to Moldovan and Georgian aspirations to join the European Union.

Both countries have candidate status to eventually join the 27-nation EU bloc.

There’s not a direct military threat that we see at this time, but there’s ongoing Russian influence operations, and that is of concern, the top US diplomat for Europe, James O’Brien, said last week.

 

Moldova has repeatedly accused Russia of conducting a hybrid war against the country, meddling in local elections and running vast disinformation campaigns to try to topple the government and derail its path toward joining the EU.

Russia has denied the accusations, but the Moldovan government is wary of Moscow’s intentions, particularly after Transnistrian authorities appealed to Moscow in February for protection due to what they said was increased pressure from Chisinau.

In Georgia, those fears intensified on Tuesday when the country’s parliament overrode a presidential veto of a foreign agents bill that has prompted weeks of massive protests by critics who say it will restrict media freedom and obstruct Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.

The bill that was approved by the parliament earlier this month requires media, nongovernmental organisations and other nonprofit groups to register as pursuing the interests of a foreign power if they receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad.

The legislature, controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party, dismissed the veto of President Salome Zourabichvili, an independent. The president now has five days to endorse the bill. If she doesn’t do so, the parliament speaker will sign it into law.

Zourabichvili, who is increasingly at odds with the governing party, vetoed the bill on May 18. She has accused the governing party of jeopardising the country’s future and hindering the path toward becoming a full member of the free and democratic world.

It remains our hope that Georgia’s leaders will reconsider the draft law and take steps to move forward with their nation’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, he said. As we review the relationship between our two countries, we will take into account Georgia’s actions in deciding our own.

The situations in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine will all be on the agenda at the NATO ministerial meeting in Prague on Thursday and Friday that will be the alliance’s last major diplomatic get-together before leaders meet at a summit to celebrate NATO’s 80th anniversary in Washington in July.

First Published: May 29 2024 | 9:57 PM IST