(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the West should admit Russia has “won” in Georgia and is on its way to doing the same in Moldova unless Western rhetoric against crossing Moscow’s red lines was dropped.
Georgia’s parliamentary election on Saturday was marred by reports of election violations. The opposition contested its outcome and Western allies said reported irregularities should be investigated. The governing pro-Russian party says it won.
“We have to recognise in Georgia for today Russia won. First, they took part of Georgia, then they changed policy, the government. And now (Georgia) has a pro-Russian government,” Zelenskiy said in English in a video released on Wednesday.
Another former Soviet republic, Ukraine’s neighbour Moldova, will hold a presidential election runoff on Sunday after pro-European incumbent failed to secure more than 50% of the vote.
The first round was held simultaneously with a referendum on enshrining Moldova’s aspirations to join the European Union in the constitution. It was won by only a slim margin.
The votes in both Georgia and Moldova were closely watched in the West, and were widely seen as a choice between the countries taking a European path or turning back to Russia’s orbit.
Zelenskiy suggested that Russia was “on the way” to implementing a scenario in Moldova that was similar to the one in Georgia.
“And they will do, if of course the West will not stop dialogue (against) crossing of red lines. If they will not stop this, just continue this rhetoric – they will lose Moldova. One-two years,” Zelenskiy added.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; editing by Mark Heinrich, William Maclean)
