Russia is allegedly plotting to use foreign "saboteurs" to overthrow the pro-EU government of Moldova, according to the country's president.
On Friday, Maia Sandu proposed Dorin Recean as the new prime minister. Recean shares the same pro-EU stance as his predecessor.
The "plot," according to President Sandu, would involve "protests by the so-called opposition" with the intention of "overthrowing the constitutional order.".
Moldova, one of the poorest nations in Europe, is suffering greatly as a result of Russia's war in the neighboring Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, claimed last week that Kiev's intelligence agency had discovered a Russian plot to obliterate Moldova.
Moldova, which is sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, applied to join the EU last summer. In addition to tensions with Transnistria, a secessionist pro-Moscow region where 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed, the nation of 2.6 million people has also struggled with an influx of refugees from Ukraine.
The former Soviet Union member Moldova is dependent on Russia for its natural gas needs. In the past year, it has experienced power outages that coincided with Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
According to President Sandu, Russia intended to use "saboteurs with military backgrounds, disguising themselves as civilians, to carry out violent actions, attacks on state institutions, and hostage taking.".
According to her, the plot would involve citizens of Russia, Montenegro, Belarus, and Serbia entering Moldova.
She urged the parliament of Moldova to pass laws that would provide the SIS and the country's prosecutors with "the necessary means to fight more efficiently against national security threats.". "The Kremlin's attempts to bring violence to our country will fail," she continued.
The main Socialist and Communist opposition group in Moldova has close ties to Moscow. Igor Dodon, who served as president from 2016 to 2020, pursued close ties with Russia.
However, Moldova and Romania, a member of the EU, have developed a closer relationship since the fall of the USSR in 1991.
Former Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita announced her resignation on Friday, stating that no one had anticipated her government would have to deal with "so many crises brought on by Russian aggression in Ukraine" when it was elected in 2021.
