After Monday\u2019s mass raids, pro-Western President Maia Sandu once again accuses Moscow of interference.<\/p>\n
At least 74 people have been arrested in Moldova over an alleged plot to organise \u201cmass riots\u201d in the Eastern European nation as President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of an attempt to sway next weekend\u2019s parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n
The police said the suspects were detained on Monday after more than 250 raids were carried out across the country. \u201cThe searches are related to a criminal case into the preparation of mass riots and destabilisation, which were coordinated from the Russian Federation through criminal elements,\u201d police said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n
Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n
Victor Furtuna, a leading Moldovan prosecutor, said those arrested were aged 19 to 45 and most of them had received training in Serbia.<\/p>\n
Pro-Western Sandu, who has described Sunday\u2019s voting as the \u201cmost consequential\u201d in the nation\u2019s history, accused the Kremlin of pouring \u201chundreds of millions of euros\u201d into the country in an attempt to sway the elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are intoxicated daily with lies,\u201d Sandu said after Monday\u2019s raids. \u201cHundreds of individuals are paid to provoke disorder, violence and spread fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI appeal to all citizens: We must not allow our country to be handed over to foreign interests,\u201d the president added.<\/p>\n
Moscow has long denied meddling in Moldova\u2019s domestic affairs.<\/p>\n
The Kremlin has also been accused of interfering in the politics of Moldova\u2019s neighbour, Romania.<\/p>\n
Last year, far-right politician Calin Georgescu won the first round of Romania\u2019s presidential election before it was annulled<\/a> by the Constitutional Court, which accused Russia of meddling in the electoral process. Moscow denied any involvement.<\/p>\n Georgescu, a strong critic of NATO, was barred from competing in this year\u2019s election, rerun by Romania\u2019s central election authority.<\/p>\n Sandu\u2019s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) has sought to cast Moldova\u2019s elections as critical not just for Moldova but also for the wider continent. The president has warned that the country would be used as \u201ca launchpad for hybrid attacks on the European Union\u201d if it were run by a pro-Russian government.<\/p>\n