Russia says EU candidate status for Ukraine, Moldova will have negative consequences
(Reuters) -Russia on Friday mentioned the choice by European Union leaders to just accept Ukraine and Moldova as membership candidates would have adverse penalties and amounted to the EU’s “enslaving” neighbouring international locations.
Though it may take years for the international locations to affix the European bloc, the choice to just accept them as candidates is an emblem of the EU’s intention to succeed in deep into the previous Soviet Union.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian overseas ministry, referred to as the transfer an try and encroach on Russia’s sphere of affect inside the Commonwealth of Impartial States (CIS) made up of ex-Soviet states.
“With the choice to grant Ukraine and Moldova the standing of candidate international locations, the European Union has confirmed that it continues to actively exploit the CIS on a geopolitical degree, to make use of it to ‘include’ Russia,” she mentioned in a press release.
“They aren’t pondering of the adverse penalties of such a step.”
By increasing to Ukraine and Moldova, two former Soviet republics, Zakharova mentioned, the EU was sacrificing its democratic beliefs on the expense of “unrestrained growth and the political and financial enslavement of its neighbours.”
Moscow has mentioned it wanted to ship troops into Ukraine, partially, to forestall its territory from getting used to assault Russia. Western international locations and Kyiv say Russia’s claims are a baseless pretext to justify a land seize.
(Reporting by ReutersEditing by Leslie Adler)
