On Sunday, 20 October, Moldova will hold Presidential elections and a referendum on whether to join the European Union. Both are critical for Moldova’s future. However, Russia, which wants to attract the Moldovan Republic to its sphere of influence, deployed an unprecedented disinformation campaign before and during the electoral campaign.
In a statement issued today, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock highlighted the forthcoming elections in Moldova and the referendum on EU membership as “important milestones.”
“The people of Moldova are deciding on their future. I firmly believe that this future is at the heart of Europe. We will continue to support Moldova on its path towards the European Union,” German FM said.
Minister Baerbock emphasised that “Putin’s Russia not only wants to destroy our European peaceful order. Putin’s Russia is also using hybrid means to meddle in elections in Europe: with targeted interference, cyber attacks and disinformation spread by his army of bots on social media”.
The Minister said that Moldova is defying these threats – partly with the help of the Moldova Partnership Platform, “which we launched together with partners only 40 days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine”. “The country has freed itself from a stranglehold and can no longer be blackmailed by Russia over gas. And judicial and anti-corruption reforms are underway,” added Baerbock.
