Moldova, the first “domino” in Russia’s plan to escalate the conflict in Europe

An unstable post-Soviet zone may not be Moscow’s first choice. However, from the Kremlin’s point of view, it is preferable to a “neighbourhood” in which Russia is surrounded by strong, well-governed countries with a pro-Western orientation.

Such a prospect does not bode well for countries that are heavily dependent on Russia economically or militarily, including Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Nor even for countries with significant ethnic Russian communities, such as Kazakhstan, or even in NATO member countries like Latvia and Estonia.

This makes current events in Moldova even more significant. And if this is a test of a new version of the old Russian playbook for destabilising its neighbours, all the more important is stopping the Kremlin’s diabolical plan in Moldova./Euronews.al/