ARCHIVE PHOTO – Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova speaks at a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 16, 2022. REUTERS / Maxim Shemetov
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June 24 (Reuters) – Russia said on Friday that the decision by European Union leaders to accept Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for accession would have negative consequences and would amount to “enslaving” the EU’s neighboring countries.
While countries could take years to join the European bloc, the decision to accept them as candidates is a symbol of the EU’s intention to join the former Soviet Union.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, described the measure as an attempt to invade Russia’s sphere of influence within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) formed by ex-Soviet states.
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“With the decision to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidate countries, the European Union has confirmed that it continues to actively exploit the CIS at the geopolitical level, to use it to” contain “Russia,” it said in a statement.
“They’re not thinking about the negative consequences of a step like this.”
By expanding into Ukraine and Moldova, two former Soviet republics, Zakharova said, the EU was sacrificing its democratic ideals at the expense of “unrestricted expansion and political and economic enslavement of its neighbors.”
Moscow has said it needed to send troops to Ukraine, in part, to prevent its territory from being used to attack Russia. Western countries and Kyiv say Russia’s claims are an unfounded pretext to justify a land grab.
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Reuters report Edited by Leslie Adler
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