Breitbart: "Moldova is to choose"

The US analytical publication Breitbart writes that the mass protests in Moldova  make the country to choice whether  in favor of Russia or the EU. The months of anti-government protests in Chisinau, Moldova's capital, reached a peak the last week, when tens of thousands of people stormed the parliament building, and police had to use tear gas against demonstrators, resulting in dozens of injured. This mass anger was provoked by the fact that the Parliament had approved the candidacy of Paul Philip as the Prime Minister of Moldova. The protesters chanted both in Romanian and Russian languages, calling on the Parliament to resign.

The protesters are demanding an investigation of the "theft of the century", the disappearance of 1, 5 billion dollars, 15% of GDP, from three national banks on the eve of the parliamentary elections in 2014. The money was found a year later, and the Prime Minister Vlad Field was arrested on charges of corruption. In Octoberthe next prime minister, Valery Strelets, was fired  after he and his government were declared a no-confidence vote. In Moldova, there was no government until last Wednesday, when the parliament elected a new prime minister, Paul Philip.

In Moldova there are two basic ideologies - the pro-European and pro-Russian. Since 2009 the government is dominated by the pro-European stance, but after a corruption scandal, the voters are increasingly taking the pro-Russian postion. Nominally Paul Filip takes athe pro-European position, which further fuels the anger of the Moldovan population. Many analysts believe that the new Government of Moldova will not last 100 days, in connection with the mass rallies of the Moldovans. Moldova is a small country between Romania and Ukraine, and according to surveys conducted in the country, many people would like to see Russia as their closest ally, but not the EU.

Most likely, in case of new parliamentary elections in the Republic the pro-Russian party will win, that would be a great public relations shif in the region. Moreover, such a victory will solve the problem of Transnistria, which will be able to reunite with Moldova. However, there are several challenges to the implementation of the plan. The fact is that Romania and Ukraine will make every effort to ensure that the pro-Russian sentiment in the country have come to naught. Most likely, the Ukrainian side will  implement a sharp tightening of relations and the economic blockade of Moldova in case, if a country chooses Russia.

Despite of such a perspective of social and economic pressure, the choice in favor of Europe is theoretically highly unlikely, since the pro-European government continues to discredit itself in the eyes of the population, while the prospect of a rapprochement with Russia is becoming increasingly attractive for the Moldovan voters.

The business publication Forbes writes that France is ready to lift the sanctions against Russia in July this year. Such a turn of events would be extremely beneficial for both Moscow and Paris, which is interested in the lifting of sanctions. The French authorities expect that this step will return the favor of Russia, which in turn will lift the restrictions on imports of the French food products. In particular the manufacturers of dairy products are suffering, such as the company Danone, for example, that has lost a huge market for realization of its products.

However, while sanctions remain in force, Russia managed to find an alternative to the French exports. The Iranian companies are intend to deliver to  Russia the dairy products, the total value of which can reach $ 800 million in 2016.

In addition to France, Germany is also ready for the lifting of the sanctions in the next six months. Vice-Chancellor of Germany said that the restrictions were introduced for a decision of the Ukrainian conflict, and according to the politician, this process is already underway.

If sanctions against Russia will be removed in the summer of 2016, this will have a positive impact on the world economy as a whole, because in fact, the most affected side was Europe, which was forced to withdraw from the Russian market, thus losing a significant share of investment. However, whether the European producers to return safely to Russia is not clear, since the market conditions in the state has changed due to the fact that Moscow found  new trading partners, while the sanctions are imposed.