Russia turns democratic leaders against each other – Romanian Foreign Minister

Russia is stepping up its disinformation attacks against democratic countries in an attempt to turn its allies against each other and create friction ahead of the US and European elections.

Source: Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu in an interview with Bloomberg

Details: Odobescu said that the United States and Europe must fight Russian disinformation "in a coordinated and intelligent manner."

"Russia is trying to challenge the democratic institutions in our countries, to test the limits and pit us against each other, directly and through proxies," she said. 

Odobescu stressed that the determination to achieve a common goal – Ukraine's victory in the war against Russia – must prevail, despite the natural differences of opinion among the world's top leaders.

She added that failure to do so would encourage other authoritarian leaders to challenge the international order.

"We need to look beyond the electoral campaign messages, and in times of turmoil and when our unity is challenged, transatlantic cooperation is indispensable," Odobescu said.

Odobescu said that Romania is in talks with the Baltic states and other partners to promote a plan aimed at strengthening the fight against disinformation.

Background:

• Earlier, Germany and the United Kingdom promised not to let Russian President Vladimir Putin divide the allies amid the scandal of a leaked conversation between Bundeswehr officers regarding the supply of Taurus missiles.
• At the end of a meeting in Paris early last week, Macron said that the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine could not be ruled out. Scholz firmly opposed this and reiterated this on Wednesday: "As German Chancellor, I will not send a single soldier from our Bundeswehr to Ukraine."
• The tensions in German-French relations are causing concern among Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats, who believe that it is damaging support for Ukraine in the war.
• At the same time, Stéphane Séjourné believes that there is no split between France and Germany, despite the obvious differences between President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz over Ukraine.

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