A top Russian intelligence official expressed annoyance at a meeting of almost 50 European leaders in the former Soviet Republic of Moldova.
“Ukraine has become a bridgehead in the war against Russia,” Alexander Bortnikov, the director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), said on Thursday.
“The West is actively pushing Moldova to take part in the Ukrainian conflict.”
Moldova, a small republic of 2.6 million people, led by pro-European President Maia Sandu, has clearly backed Ukraine against Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Sandu has repeatedly complained recently about interference and planned coup attempts by Russian secret services in her country.
Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe and has been plagued by political instability.
Russia has traditionally been a major influence in the small country, particularly in the breakaway region of Transnistria, where Russian soldiers have been stationed since the 1990s.
International observers have repeatedly warned that Moscow could use unrest in the region, caused by the invasion of Ukraine, as an excuse to escalate the situation.
Bortnikov, the FSB chief, claimed on Thursday that the West was inciting Moldova to carry out a “violent cleansing of Transnistria.”
