moscow has reacted strongly to Moldova's decision to join European Union sanctions against russia, calling the move "a new hostile step" by the leadership in Chișinău. russian foreign ministry spokeswoman maria zaharova said on Friday that Moldova's decision will not go unanswered and moscow will inform later on what measures it will take.

The law on legislative changes in connection with the application of international restrictive measures was approved on Friday in the second reading by the Moldovan parliament. This comes in the context of the war unleashed by russia in Ukraine and the anti-russian sanctions imposed by the EU in this context, reports moldova.europalibera.org. 

maria zaharova stressed that moscow considers Moldova's adherence to these sanctions as "a new hostile step by the leadership in Chișinău", which has joined the anti-russian campaign of the West collectively. She described Moldovan-russian relations as already in a deplorable state, and the aim of the Moldovan decision is perceived as one of "complete destruction of these relations".

The russian MFA spokeswoman added that this destructive course does not correspond to the interests of the majority of Moldovans, who have a friendly attitude towards russia and want to maintain and develop bilateral cooperation.

In parallel with the accession to sanctions, the parliament in Chișinău denounced seven agreements with outdated provisions for Moldovan citizens concluded with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) states, underlining a continued distancing from russia. Moldovan President Maia Sandu also sent a new draft of the National Security Strategy to parliament, noting that the russian federation poses a threat to national security but stressing that Moldova will resist.