Russia says Western military assistance pushes Moldova to 'catastrophe'

The Western military assistance to Moldova does not add to the country's security and sovereignty, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said on Saturday.

"As experience shows, the reckless pumping of a country with Western weapons does not add to its security and sovereignty, but, on the contrary, brings it closer to catastrophe," Mikhail Galuzin told the Russian state-run RIA news agency.

Galuzin noted that Moscow has repeatedly called on Chisinau to perceive "consciously" Western proposals to "increase defense capability."

"I would like to once again express doubt that such 'assistance' from the West, which looks more like the development of the territory, is carried out in the interests of Moldova itself," he stressed.

Turning to the issue of the Russian oil deliveries via Ukraine, Galuzin said: "The volume of oil pumped through the southern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic will remain at the level of this year."

Commenting on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said implementation of the trilateral agreements between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will contribute to the progress in work on a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan.

"In particular, we hope for gradual progress in areas such as unblocking transport and economic ties in the region, the border delimitation, and solving humanitarian problems," he said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a 44-day war in September 2020 over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

The war, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal, saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.