The decision of the leaders of the European Union to accept Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for membership will have negative consequences and is tantamount to "enslaving" by the EU of neighboring countries. This was stated by the press secretary of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, Reuters reported on Saturday, June 25.
Zakharova called this move as an attempt to encroach on Russia's sphere of influence within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which is made up of former Soviet republics.
"By its decision to grant candidate-country status to Ukraine and Moldova, the European Union confirmed that it continues to actively exploit the CIS at the geopolitical level, to use it to 'contain' Russia. By expanding into Ukraine and Moldova, two former Soviet republics, the EU is sacrificing its democratic ideals at the expense of "unbridled expansion and political and economic enslavement of their neighbors," the statement said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that the decision on the candidacy of Moldova and Ukraine "is a symbol of the EU's intention to penetrate deep into the former Soviet Union."
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on June 23, the European Council decided to grant Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for EU membership.
Ukraine expects to fulfill the requirements of the European Commission for membership by the end of 2022 in order to start negotiations on joining the EU.
At the same time, on June 24, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the granting by the European Union to Ukraine of the status of a candidate member of the EU is a point of no return.
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