THESE ARE NEXT PUTIN TARGETS AFTER UKRAINE
Reuters
Tue, October 29, 2024
FILE PHOTO: Protesters gather outside Georgian parliament after disputed election
FILE PHOTO: Moldovan President Maia Sandu meets with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Chisinau
FILE PHOTO: A participant holds a European Union flag during a procession in support of Georgia's membership of the EU in Tbilisi
(Reuters) - Elections in Georgia and Moldova have shown the European Union just how tough a task it faces in trying to expand to countries that Moscow considers in its sphere of influence.
The EU has been making a renewed push to bring in new members since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saying the outbreak of war has shown the danger of having "grey zones" just outside the bloc that are not firmly part of the West.
In Georgia, a governing party seen by most EU countries as increasingly Moscow-friendly won a parliamentary election on Saturday that was marred by reports of voting violations.
In Moldova, which like Georgia has been granted EU candidate status, only a slim majority of voters backed anchoring the goal of EU accession in the constitution in a referendum this month and pro-Western President Maia Sandu faces a runoff vote after falling short of outright victory in a presidential election.
Pro-EU politicians in the two former Soviet states said Russia had engaged in widespread disinformation and other forms of interference to sway the vote. Moscow denies the accusations.
"It was a wake-up call for us. Of course, we have to see it," Reinhold Lopatka, an Austrian member of the European Parliament who was an observer in Georgia’s election, said of the votes in both countries.
Lopatka said he still saw "good chances" of Moldova progressing on its path to the EU, but added: "In Georgia, I'm not sure."
Enlargement, mainly into eastern Europe, was a big EU geopolitical goal after the Cold War ended. Would-be members saw joining the wealthy, democratic bloc as a glittering prize.
The EU added 10 new members in 2004 and later three more, but enthusiasm waned as EU governments voiced concerns about east-to-west migration and democratic backsliding in some newer members. Then Russia's war in Ukraine prompted a rethink.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday the EU would pay a price in terms of "war and instability at our borders" if it did not enlarge. Pro-EU leaders in candidate countries say joining the bloc would bring more prosperity and strengthen democracy in their countries.
David McAllister, chair of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said the Moldovan and Georgian elections underlined "the tense and polarised political situation" in both countries but that the EU must stick to its course.
"The European Union should be ready to continue in its support of the democratic forces in both countries, in order to facilitate their long-term European integration," he said.
LACK OF UNITY
The EU’s approach to Georgia and Moldova is complicated by a lack of unity among its member countries.
Lithuania said the widespread reports of election irregularities called the results of the Georgian election into "serious question". Another Baltic state, Latvia, voiced serious concern about the reports of voting irregularities and urged Georgian authorities to investigate.
By contrast, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated the governing Georgian Dream party before official results were announced. Orban, who is Europe’s most Kremlin-friendly prime minister and holds the EU’s rotating presidency, arrived in Georgia on Monday.
"Instead of useless lecturing, they need our support on their European path," he said.
Senior EU officials sought some middle ground. Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the executive European Commission said observers had found an "uneven" electoral playing field in Georgia and called on authorities to investigate irregularities.
They avoided saying whether they considered the election free and fair enough to accept the result.
The EU will face decisions on how to proceed with both Georgia and Moldova. Until now, the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are the only former Soviet republics that have joined the EU, and Moscow has signalled fierce resistance to the accession of any more ex-Soviet states.
Georgia's EU accession process is frozen over legislation that requires organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence.
If Georgian Dream's victory is not overturned, the EU will have to decide whether to try to re-engage with Tbilisi. The party says it wants Georgia to join the EU despite taking steps away from the EU mainstream.
In Moldova, much will depend on whether the Nov. 3 runoff vote is won by Sandu or challenger Alexandr Stoianoglo, who is backed by a traditionally pro-Russian party.
Some current and former Moldovan officials say the EU should double down on its support for the country's EU aspirations.
"European integration should be continuously used as an instrument to help countries which are problematic become safer, more democratic and stable and secure," said Nicu Popescu, a former Moldovan foreign minister now with the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Thousands Protest Over Georgia Vote as EU, US Signal Worry
Helena Bedwell
Alexander Tanas
Tue, October 29, 2024
FILE PHOTO: Moldova's presidential candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo attends a press conference in Chisinau
By Alexander Tanas
CHISINAU (Reuters) - The candidate challenging pro-European incumbent Maia Sandu in Moldova's presidential election rejected suggestions that he was beholden to Russia, calling for European integration while avoiding the divisions he said the president had created.
Alexandr Stoianoglo is backed in Sunday's run-off vote by a party traditionally linked to Russia.
He told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that if elected to lead the ex-Soviet state he would seek to bridge differences with Moldova's separatist Transdniestria enclave and was prepared to meet Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin if it was in the interests of a majority of his compatriots.
"I have had no contacts for years with officials in Russia. Not by telephone, not in secret, not in meetings, not anywhere,"Stoianoglo said in response to Sandu's allegation that he was a "Trojan horse" and "Moscow's man".
Sandu, who scored 42% in the election's first round last month to 26% for Stoianoglo, has made European integration the focus of her four years in office and denounces Russia as one of the greatest evils facing the country, which lies between Ukraine and Romania. Relations with Moscow have plummeted.
In the aftermath of the first round - and a razor-thin "yes" vote in a referendum on joining the European Union - Sandu cited "clear evidence" that criminal groups backed by "foreign forces" had tried to bribe 300,000 voters.
Stoianoglo, answering questions in writing, said he had no links with Ilan Shor, the fugitive pro-Russian businessman who acknowledges paying voters to cast "no" ballots in the referendum.
He restated his call for a "reset" of relations with Moscow despite criticism from opponents.
"I will keep maintaining that the priority must be what benefits the majority of Moldovan society," he said. "And that means toning down the escalation. We should be the ones offering constructive solutions. Particularly, for our own citizens."
MEETING WITH PUTIN POSSIBLE
Stoianoglo, who Sandu said she sacked as prosecutor general for failing to tackle corruption, made no condemnation of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He called it "a continuing tragedy" and said he could envisage meeting Putin under certain conditions.
"If the (agenda) is of sufficient interest to the majority of Moldovans that a meeting between the two leaders is needed, I will meet the president of Russia," he said.
European integration, he said, had to focus on meeting EU standards and legislation.
And it made no sense without tackling differences with pro-Moscow separatists in Transdniestria, who split from Moldova in the 1990s, and whose separation is backed by the presence of 1,500 Russian "peacekeepers". Sandu has suggested dealing with the separatist issue after first joining the EU.
"Every step approaching Brussels must be done together with (Transdniestria leaders)," he said. "I realise how difficult this is, but the effects must also be significant."
Stoianoglo said it was unclear in the run-off whether he would win over voters who backed nine candidates eliminated in the first round, some of them unsympathetic to Sandu.
"Our voters are sophisticated and their behaviour is sometimes unpredictable. Nothing is certain," he said.
Reuters
Tue, October 29, 2024
FILE PHOTO: Protesters gather outside Georgian parliament after disputed election
FILE PHOTO: Moldovan President Maia Sandu meets with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Chisinau
FILE PHOTO: A participant holds a European Union flag during a procession in support of Georgia's membership of the EU in Tbilisi
(Reuters) - Elections in Georgia and Moldova have shown the European Union just how tough a task it faces in trying to expand to countries that Moscow considers in its sphere of influence.
The EU has been making a renewed push to bring in new members since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saying the outbreak of war has shown the danger of having "grey zones" just outside the bloc that are not firmly part of the West.
In Georgia, a governing party seen by most EU countries as increasingly Moscow-friendly won a parliamentary election on Saturday that was marred by reports of voting violations.
In Moldova, which like Georgia has been granted EU candidate status, only a slim majority of voters backed anchoring the goal of EU accession in the constitution in a referendum this month and pro-Western President Maia Sandu faces a runoff vote after falling short of outright victory in a presidential election.
Pro-EU politicians in the two former Soviet states said Russia had engaged in widespread disinformation and other forms of interference to sway the vote. Moscow denies the accusations.
"It was a wake-up call for us. Of course, we have to see it," Reinhold Lopatka, an Austrian member of the European Parliament who was an observer in Georgia’s election, said of the votes in both countries.
Lopatka said he still saw "good chances" of Moldova progressing on its path to the EU, but added: "In Georgia, I'm not sure."
Enlargement, mainly into eastern Europe, was a big EU geopolitical goal after the Cold War ended. Would-be members saw joining the wealthy, democratic bloc as a glittering prize.
The EU added 10 new members in 2004 and later three more, but enthusiasm waned as EU governments voiced concerns about east-to-west migration and democratic backsliding in some newer members. Then Russia's war in Ukraine prompted a rethink.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday the EU would pay a price in terms of "war and instability at our borders" if it did not enlarge. Pro-EU leaders in candidate countries say joining the bloc would bring more prosperity and strengthen democracy in their countries.
David McAllister, chair of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said the Moldovan and Georgian elections underlined "the tense and polarised political situation" in both countries but that the EU must stick to its course.
"The European Union should be ready to continue in its support of the democratic forces in both countries, in order to facilitate their long-term European integration," he said.
LACK OF UNITY
The EU’s approach to Georgia and Moldova is complicated by a lack of unity among its member countries.
Lithuania said the widespread reports of election irregularities called the results of the Georgian election into "serious question". Another Baltic state, Latvia, voiced serious concern about the reports of voting irregularities and urged Georgian authorities to investigate.
By contrast, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated the governing Georgian Dream party before official results were announced. Orban, who is Europe’s most Kremlin-friendly prime minister and holds the EU’s rotating presidency, arrived in Georgia on Monday.
"Instead of useless lecturing, they need our support on their European path," he said.
Senior EU officials sought some middle ground. Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the executive European Commission said observers had found an "uneven" electoral playing field in Georgia and called on authorities to investigate irregularities.
They avoided saying whether they considered the election free and fair enough to accept the result.
The EU will face decisions on how to proceed with both Georgia and Moldova. Until now, the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are the only former Soviet republics that have joined the EU, and Moscow has signalled fierce resistance to the accession of any more ex-Soviet states.
Georgia's EU accession process is frozen over legislation that requires organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence.
If Georgian Dream's victory is not overturned, the EU will have to decide whether to try to re-engage with Tbilisi. The party says it wants Georgia to join the EU despite taking steps away from the EU mainstream.
In Moldova, much will depend on whether the Nov. 3 runoff vote is won by Sandu or challenger Alexandr Stoianoglo, who is backed by a traditionally pro-Russian party.
Some current and former Moldovan officials say the EU should double down on its support for the country's EU aspirations.
"European integration should be continuously used as an instrument to help countries which are problematic become safer, more democratic and stable and secure," said Nicu Popescu, a former Moldovan foreign minister now with the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Thousands Protest Over Georgia Vote as EU, US Signal Worry
Helena Bedwell
BLOOMBERG
Mon, October 28, 2024
(Bloomberg) -- Thousands gathered in the Georgian capital Tbilisi late Monday to protest the results of parliamentary elections after the country’s president denounced them as rigged in favor of Moscow.
The showdown marks the latest alleged effort by the Kremlin to expand its influence in countries once in its orbit. It follows a closely fought referendum in Moldova that saw the government’s plan to seek EU membership approved by a slim margin amid claims of Russian meddling. In Bulgaria, a pro-Kremlin party scored a strong finish in an election Sunday.
The US called for an investigation and the European Union was critical of the vote in Georgia, where the ruling Georgian Dream party, which advocates closer ties with Russia, claimed victory. Pro-European opposition parties denounced the outcome as falsified.
They drew support from Salome Zourabichvili, who holds the largely ceremonial post of president and appealed to backers to protest in the capital.
“Your voice was stolen, and they attempted to steal your future as well, but no one has the right to do that,” Zourabichvili told people gathered outside the parliament building. Organizers estimated the crowd in the tens of thousands, while police didn’t give numbers.
The rally, which lasted just over 90 minutes, had blocked off traffic on the city’s main avenue and remained peaceful. Members of the opposition declined their parliament mandates and demanded a new election overseen by international authorities.
The Georgian Dream party, which has ruled since 2012, won 54% support for another four years in power, according to the Central Election Commission. Four opposition parties backing a pro-European charter drawn up by Zourabichvili got a combined 38%, the commission said.
Zourabichvili urged Georgians to join protests against what she called a “Russian special operation” aimed at restoring Moscow’s influence and thwarting Georgia’s goal of membership in the European Union and NATO.
The speaker of Georgia’s parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, accused the president of spreading “disinformation” aimed at “destabilizing the country alongside the opposition,” as he defended the result at a news briefing Monday.
The government got a boost from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who arrived in Tbilisi and was quick to congratulate the ruling party on its victory. Orban has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but was jeered by demonstrators outside his hotel in Tbilisi, according to video posted on social media.
Orban’s visit also drew criticism from his EU allies as premature.
In a joint statement released on the German Foreign Ministry’s website on Monday, a group of EU states condemned “all violation of international norms for free and fair elections” — and said Orban doesn’t speak on behalf of the 27-nation bloc. The letter was signed by ministers from 13 member states including Germany, France, Poland and the Netherlands.
The political uncertainty has rattled investors, with two of the country’s biggest stocks falling in London. Bank of Georgia, which has tumbled from a record high in May, declined as much as 9.9% and TBC Bank fell as much as 15% before paring some of the losses on Monday. The lari was little changed after the central bank sold $60 million last week to counter pre-election volatility.
Going Eastward
Tensions have surged in the Caucasus republic of 4 million after Georgian Dream passed a “foreign agent” law targeting non-governmental organizations and media earlier this year that the US and the EU labeled as “Kremlin-inspired.” The EU suspended membership talks with Georgia in response — and the US began a review of relations with the government.
One protester, Gia Ubilava, said he’d been driven out of his home in the breakaway region of Abkhazia by Russian forces.
“And now they want me to go back to them and live together in a Russian-run state?” he said. “I don’t think so.”
Georgian Dream’s billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who built his fortune in Russia, has accused a “global war party” in the West of plotting to oust his government and to push Georgia into a conflict with the Kremlin. The party insists it’s still committed to European integration even as it has improved ties with Moscow in recent months.
International observers led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized “highly divisive campaign rhetoric and widespread reports of pressure on voters” during the election.
While they didn’t challenge the overall result, their election report noted “the many advantages taken by the ruling party contributed to an already uneven playing field.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a “full investigation” of election violations in a statement that refrained from questioning the result.
--With assistance from Ewa Krukowska and Michael Nienaber.
Moldovan presidential challenger Stoianoglo seeks measured movement to Europe, prepared to meet Putin
Mon, October 28, 2024
(Bloomberg) -- Thousands gathered in the Georgian capital Tbilisi late Monday to protest the results of parliamentary elections after the country’s president denounced them as rigged in favor of Moscow.
The showdown marks the latest alleged effort by the Kremlin to expand its influence in countries once in its orbit. It follows a closely fought referendum in Moldova that saw the government’s plan to seek EU membership approved by a slim margin amid claims of Russian meddling. In Bulgaria, a pro-Kremlin party scored a strong finish in an election Sunday.
The US called for an investigation and the European Union was critical of the vote in Georgia, where the ruling Georgian Dream party, which advocates closer ties with Russia, claimed victory. Pro-European opposition parties denounced the outcome as falsified.
They drew support from Salome Zourabichvili, who holds the largely ceremonial post of president and appealed to backers to protest in the capital.
“Your voice was stolen, and they attempted to steal your future as well, but no one has the right to do that,” Zourabichvili told people gathered outside the parliament building. Organizers estimated the crowd in the tens of thousands, while police didn’t give numbers.
The rally, which lasted just over 90 minutes, had blocked off traffic on the city’s main avenue and remained peaceful. Members of the opposition declined their parliament mandates and demanded a new election overseen by international authorities.
The Georgian Dream party, which has ruled since 2012, won 54% support for another four years in power, according to the Central Election Commission. Four opposition parties backing a pro-European charter drawn up by Zourabichvili got a combined 38%, the commission said.
Zourabichvili urged Georgians to join protests against what she called a “Russian special operation” aimed at restoring Moscow’s influence and thwarting Georgia’s goal of membership in the European Union and NATO.
The speaker of Georgia’s parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, accused the president of spreading “disinformation” aimed at “destabilizing the country alongside the opposition,” as he defended the result at a news briefing Monday.
The government got a boost from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who arrived in Tbilisi and was quick to congratulate the ruling party on its victory. Orban has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but was jeered by demonstrators outside his hotel in Tbilisi, according to video posted on social media.
Orban’s visit also drew criticism from his EU allies as premature.
In a joint statement released on the German Foreign Ministry’s website on Monday, a group of EU states condemned “all violation of international norms for free and fair elections” — and said Orban doesn’t speak on behalf of the 27-nation bloc. The letter was signed by ministers from 13 member states including Germany, France, Poland and the Netherlands.
The political uncertainty has rattled investors, with two of the country’s biggest stocks falling in London. Bank of Georgia, which has tumbled from a record high in May, declined as much as 9.9% and TBC Bank fell as much as 15% before paring some of the losses on Monday. The lari was little changed after the central bank sold $60 million last week to counter pre-election volatility.
Going Eastward
Tensions have surged in the Caucasus republic of 4 million after Georgian Dream passed a “foreign agent” law targeting non-governmental organizations and media earlier this year that the US and the EU labeled as “Kremlin-inspired.” The EU suspended membership talks with Georgia in response — and the US began a review of relations with the government.
One protester, Gia Ubilava, said he’d been driven out of his home in the breakaway region of Abkhazia by Russian forces.
“And now they want me to go back to them and live together in a Russian-run state?” he said. “I don’t think so.”
Georgian Dream’s billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who built his fortune in Russia, has accused a “global war party” in the West of plotting to oust his government and to push Georgia into a conflict with the Kremlin. The party insists it’s still committed to European integration even as it has improved ties with Moscow in recent months.
International observers led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized “highly divisive campaign rhetoric and widespread reports of pressure on voters” during the election.
While they didn’t challenge the overall result, their election report noted “the many advantages taken by the ruling party contributed to an already uneven playing field.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a “full investigation” of election violations in a statement that refrained from questioning the result.
--With assistance from Ewa Krukowska and Michael Nienaber.
Moldovan presidential challenger Stoianoglo seeks measured movement to Europe, prepared to meet Putin
Alexander Tanas
Tue, October 29, 2024
FILE PHOTO: Moldova's presidential candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo attends a press conference in Chisinau
By Alexander Tanas
CHISINAU (Reuters) - The candidate challenging pro-European incumbent Maia Sandu in Moldova's presidential election rejected suggestions that he was beholden to Russia, calling for European integration while avoiding the divisions he said the president had created.
Alexandr Stoianoglo is backed in Sunday's run-off vote by a party traditionally linked to Russia.
He told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that if elected to lead the ex-Soviet state he would seek to bridge differences with Moldova's separatist Transdniestria enclave and was prepared to meet Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin if it was in the interests of a majority of his compatriots.
"I have had no contacts for years with officials in Russia. Not by telephone, not in secret, not in meetings, not anywhere,"Stoianoglo said in response to Sandu's allegation that he was a "Trojan horse" and "Moscow's man".
Sandu, who scored 42% in the election's first round last month to 26% for Stoianoglo, has made European integration the focus of her four years in office and denounces Russia as one of the greatest evils facing the country, which lies between Ukraine and Romania. Relations with Moscow have plummeted.
In the aftermath of the first round - and a razor-thin "yes" vote in a referendum on joining the European Union - Sandu cited "clear evidence" that criminal groups backed by "foreign forces" had tried to bribe 300,000 voters.
Stoianoglo, answering questions in writing, said he had no links with Ilan Shor, the fugitive pro-Russian businessman who acknowledges paying voters to cast "no" ballots in the referendum.
He restated his call for a "reset" of relations with Moscow despite criticism from opponents.
"I will keep maintaining that the priority must be what benefits the majority of Moldovan society," he said. "And that means toning down the escalation. We should be the ones offering constructive solutions. Particularly, for our own citizens."
MEETING WITH PUTIN POSSIBLE
Stoianoglo, who Sandu said she sacked as prosecutor general for failing to tackle corruption, made no condemnation of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He called it "a continuing tragedy" and said he could envisage meeting Putin under certain conditions.
"If the (agenda) is of sufficient interest to the majority of Moldovans that a meeting between the two leaders is needed, I will meet the president of Russia," he said.
European integration, he said, had to focus on meeting EU standards and legislation.
And it made no sense without tackling differences with pro-Moscow separatists in Transdniestria, who split from Moldova in the 1990s, and whose separation is backed by the presence of 1,500 Russian "peacekeepers". Sandu has suggested dealing with the separatist issue after first joining the EU.
"Every step approaching Brussels must be done together with (Transdniestria leaders)," he said. "I realise how difficult this is, but the effects must also be significant."
Stoianoglo said it was unclear in the run-off whether he would win over voters who backed nine candidates eliminated in the first round, some of them unsympathetic to Sandu.
"Our voters are sophisticated and their behaviour is sometimes unpredictable. Nothing is certain," he said.
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