The Foreign Ministry promised to respond to Moldova’s accession to sanctions against Russia

RUSSIA will respond to the decision of the Moldovan authorities to join the anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union, said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova .

“We regard this as another hostile step aimed at destroying Russian-Moldovan relations. There should be no doubt that it will not go unanswered from our side,” Zakharova said at a briefing.

In her opinion, Moldova is “increasing the degree of anti-Russian rhetoric” ahead of the December meeting of the EU Council , which will consider launching negotiations on the country’s accession to the bloc.

On November 23, Moldova joined sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities, which the EU introduced back in 2014 in connection with the annexation of Crimea to Russia and last updated in September 2023. This decision was made a week after the European Commission, in its report on the opening of EU accession negotiations with Chisinau, demanded that it join restrictions against Moscow.

The sanctions list includes, among others, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in July 2023. Persons included in the list cannot enter Moldova, and their assets in the country will be frozen.