Moldovan president calls for more pressure on Russia, says Kremlin not seeking peace
Moldovan President Maia Sandu (photo: Getty Images)
International partners must increase economic pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin is currently not showing readiness for real peace negotiations, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said during a speech at the GLOBSEC forum in Prague.
Need for stricter sanctions
According to the outlet, the Moldovan head of state emphasized that Russia's current leadership is not interested in ending hostilities. Therefore, she said, the international community must act more decisively.
"We need to ramp up economic pressure on Russia. I do not think the Kremlin is currently interested in ending the war, and I do not think the Kremlin and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin are interested in serious peace negotiations," Sandu stressed.
She added that continued comprehensive support for Ukraine is the only way to restore stability and peace in Europe.
Russian hybrid warfare
The Moldovan president also drew attention to the methods of hybrid aggression that Russia uses against other European countries. She urged allies to be prepared to counter these challenges.
Among Russia's main tools of influence, Sandu named cyberattacks and digital sabotage, information manipulation and large-scale disinformation, as well as illegal financing of political parties and election campaigns aimed at destabilization.
"Russia uses a broad range of tools, and we must take this seriously and be prepared," she concluded.
Putin's decision on Transnistria
Earlier, on May 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree simplifying the process of obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of Transnistria. The document allows residents of the self-proclaimed Moldovan region to receive Russian passports through a fast-track procedure.
The next day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the decision, saying that Russia tries to brand Transnistria as "its own territory." According to him, the Kremlin is pursuing two key goals in this situation.
For her part, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said Putin's decree on passport distribution shows that Russia needs more people for its war. She stressed that the simplified citizenship process is intended to facilitate the mobilization of residents from the Moldovan region for the war against Ukraine.
