New EU civilian mission to Moldova is unlikely to help stabilize the situation in country, says Russia's Maria Zakharova

New Delhi: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said a new EU civilian mission to Moldova is unlikely to help stabilize the situation in the country and the region, given that the EU has turned into a geopolitical tool of the United States and NATO. According to a report, “We see that the EU is increasingly trying to gain a foothold in the post-Soviet space. It uses the deployment of its field presences as a tool,” the diplomat said, referring to the decision of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg on 24 April to set up a new civilian mission of the European Union in Moldova. Meanwhile, Maria Zakharova had said earlier that Russia does not intend to take the path of nuclear escalation in its standoff with the West over Ukraine but others should not test its patience. Her comments follow a flurry of warnings by senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, that Western military support for Ukraine is increasing the risks of a catastrophic nuclear conflict. “We will do everything to prevent the development of events according to the worst scenario, but not at the cost of infringing on our vital interests,” Zakharova told a regular news conference. “I do not recommend that anybody doubt our determination and put it to the test in practice,” she added. Russia has strongly criticised the supply of Western arms to Ukraine and the expansion of the NATO military alliance closer to its borders. Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, this month became the 31st member of NATO, while Ukraine itself also wishes to join, though it faces opposition from some countries. “They (the United States) continue to deliberately infringe on our fundamental interests, deliberately generate risks and raise the stakes in the confrontation with Russia…,” said Zakharova. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, a close Putin ally, said earlier this week that the world was “quite probably on the verge of a new world war”. Putin casts the 14-month war in Ukraine – something he calls a “special military operation” – as an existential battle with an aggressive and arrogant West, and has said that Russia will use all available means to protect itself against any aggressor. The United States and its allies have condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine as an imperial land grab. Ukraine has vowed to fight until all Russian troops withdraw from its territory, and says Russian rhetoric on nuclear war is intended to intimidate the West into curbing military aid. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.