GOR CONCERNED ABOUT MOLDOVA RIOTS; DUMA COMPARES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 000897

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV RS MD
SUBJECT: GOR CONCERNED ABOUT MOLDOVA RIOTS; DUMA COMPARES
TO COLORED REVOLUTIONS

Classified By: A/Pol M/C Margaret Hawthorne for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary: While the GOR is concerned about the
unrest in Moldova, and the MFA alluded to possible Romanian
connections of the protesters, it has not made as direct
accusations as Duma members have, who freely compared the
riots to a new "color revolution." Experts do not think the
West has masterminded the riots, while the press detected an
anti-Russian angle to the protests. End Summary.

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GOR concerned, fingers Romania
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2. (SBU) In a telephone call with Moldovan President Voronin
April 7, President Medvedev called for the peaceful
settlement of the situation in Moldova, the reestablishment
of order, and observance of the law and constitutional norms.
This phone call came only a day after Medvedev called
Voronin to congratulate him on the results of the election,
expressing his hope for constructive and friendly cooperation
between the countries.


3. (SBU) The MFA condemned the riots and indirectly accused
Romania of supporting the protesters against the incumbent
leadership, noting "the abundance of Romanian flags in the
hands of the rioters," whose aim was to "blacken the
achievements of the past several years." In a press
conference April 8, Foreign Minister Lavrov turned that
against the EU, saying, "We all saw under what flags these
riots were conducted and we hope that serious conclusions
were drawn by the European Union." However, the MFA
concluded that the protesters were "left without their
masterminds" and expressed hope that only few would
"associate themselves with the anarchic actions." Earlier,
the MFA had confirmed Russia considered the elections to have
been conducted "in full compliance with democratic and legal
norms."

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Duma accuses Romania, compares to color revolutions
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4. (SBU) Duma members were even more outspoken in their
criticism of Romania. In discussions to demand that
parliaments of Romania and the European Union strongly
condemn the "anti-constitutional actions by Moldova's
opposition," Vladimir Zhirinovskiy, deputy speaker of the
State Duma (LDP),stated the demonstrations had been "paid
for by Romanian special services," while Konstantin Zatulin
cautioned that "we cannot insist so far that the Romanian
authorities are taking part," but noted "certain
representatives of Romanian political circles are taking part
in these events."


5. (SBU) Referring to the Orange Revolution in Ukraine,
Deputy Valeriy Rushkin (CPRF) called the unrest "another
project of the orange pest," while United Russia's Vladimir
Pekhtin compared the riots he said had been caused by an
"external influence" to the color revolutions, which he
charged aimed to "weaken Russia's influence" and ensure that
"no pro-Russian states remained around Russia." Sergei
Markov called the events in Chisinau "one more orange
revolution," which was supported by Romanian "radical
nationalistic groups," although he did not think the
government of Romania was involved.

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Experts deny Western involvement
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6. (SBU) While Nashi youth movement commissioner Konstantin
Goloskokov said that the actions in Chisinau had been
provoked by the West in order to put a strain on
Russian-Moldovan relations, others agreed the West was not
masterminding the unrest and rejected the notion of another
"colored revolution." Deputy Director of the Center of
Political Technologies Aleksey Makarkin said the reaction
from the West showed it was not involved, while color
revolutions were peaceful, unlike the situation in Moldova.
Russian Public Chamber member Vyacheslav Nikonov believed the
rioting in Chisinau was staged by NGOs financed from Romania
and "some other countries and organizations."

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Press discusses anti-Russia angle
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7. (SBU) The press was quick to note a possible anti-Russian
angle to the protests. While Kommersant pointed out that
Voronin had attracted Russian pop stars to support him and
given extensive interviews to Russian journalists for
broadcast in Moldova, RBK Daily claimed the protests showed
Moscow was continuing to lose its influence in its
neighborhood and quoted an unnamed source in the MFA as
saying the GOR ignored MFA warnings that Voronin was
"bluffing" about being an ally of Russia. Instead, the GOR
allowed Russia's efforts in Transnistria to go unnoticed by
ceding leadership on that issue to Voronin.

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Comment
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8. (C) At this point, Russian officials, aside from the
Duma, are not equating the situation in Moldova with the
color revolutions, but if the situation worsens, the tendency
to do so will surely grow.
BEYRLE