Maia Sandu, has said that Russia’s Wagner paramilitary force attempted to foment a coup against her
Moldova’s pro-European President – Maia Sandu, has said that Russia’s Wagner paramilitary force attempted to foment a coup against her.
In an exclusive interview with the leading daily – Financial Times, on the sidelines of the European Union’s (E.U.’s) European Political Community summit in Spain, she said Wagner’s late leader – Yevgeny Prigozhin wanted to overthrow her.
She also said Russia remained engaged in attempts to destabilise the country by funnelling money into Moldova to bribe voters in next month’s local elections. She said that the group was trying to get anti-government protests, held periodically since last year, to turn violent.
She told the Financial Times, “The information that we have is that it was a plan prepared by (Prigozhin’s) team. The situation is really dramatic and we have to protect ourselves.”
She also highlighted longstanding pressure on the country, particularly in terms of pricing and payment for Russian energy supplies. Russia also exerts influence through a pro-Russian separatist enclave – Transdniestria, in Moldova’s East.
Since Sandu’s 2020 election, Moldova has denounced Russia’s war in Ukraine and become a candidate for E.U. membership. Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister of Russia – Sergey Lavrov, has rejected the claims and previously accused Moldova of pursuing an anti-Russian agenda.
Prigozhin, whose mercenaries played a major role in capturing parts of Eastern Ukraine for Russia in the past year, staged a brief mutiny against the President of Russia – Vladimir Putin in June 2023. Later in June 2023, he was killed in a plane crash.
She further said, “Russia is going to increase its pressure on Moldova. They tried energy and they failed. They tried to overthrow the government and they failed. And now they are trying massive interference in our elections, using a lot of money.”
Sandu’s PAS party has a majority in parliament but faces competition in towns and cities against her pro-European policies throughout the country of 2.5 million. Sandu said Moldova’s intelligence services had detected at least 20 million Euros (U.S. $ 21.2 million) in Russian finance coming into the country and suggested the true figure was higher.
She stated that Russia distributed thousands of bank cards to Moldovans in Dubai, whom they wanted to bribe. These were given allies of fugitive businessman – Ilan Shor. Moldova’s Parliament this week took steps to keep allies of Shor from contesting the election. Shor was sentenced in absentia in April 2023 to 15 years in prison for fraud and his party was banned by the Constitutional Court.
