The European Union should sanction "oligarchs" working with Russia to "destabilize" Moldova, Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu told DW on Monday.

"One of the objectives of today is to make it more urgent: the need for the European Union to apply sanctions against corrupt oligarchs who have escaped Moldova, who have stolen a lot of money and who are working shoulder to shoulder with Russia to destabilize the country, to bring violence on Moldovan streets," Popescu said on the sidelines of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.

Protests took place in Moldova's capital, Chisinau, over the weekend and the country's pro-Western government resigned earlier this month amid domestic political pressure. A new administration is now in office promising a similar political trajectory. 

Popescu accused Moscow of trying to "derail Moldova's stability." Russia has refuted this claim, and on Monday a Kremlin spokesperson said Moldova was "slipping into anti-Russian hysteria."

The Moldovan foreign minister said his country also needs air surveillance equipment. This comes after national authorities said Russian missiles crossed Moldovan airspace on February 10.

Popescu said getting the equipment among his country's "priorities" to allow "a much better understanding" of security risks and protect citizens.

Moldova seeks more support amid alleged Russian destabilization bids

Moldova shares a border with Ukraine and has taken in more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees since last February, according to the United Nations. In the early days of the full-scale invasion, Moldova asked for urgent help with refugee reception under the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism. Brussels has said member countries offered Moldova support with sheltering refugees and provided hygiene kits and power generators.

Due to its constitutional neutrality, Moldova cannot be a member of Western military alliance NATO — but Popescu said his country's neutrality "does not preclude security and defense cooperation."

Increasing security ties with the European Union, the United States and NATO would help Moldova in future to maintain "liberty, democracy and freedom," he said.

Brussels is considering sending experts to Moldova to improve resilience to cyberthreats, according to diplomats. In 2022, EU member states also greenlit €150 million ($160.1 million) in grants and loans for Moldova to be disbursed over the next two years. The Eastern European country is among the poorest on the continent.

Moldova hopes to join European Union

Moldova harbors hopes of one day joining the European Union, and in 2022 the country officially applied soon after Ukraine signed its own membership bid. The two nations were granted candidate status by EU countries in June, marking an important step on the path toward accession.

But becoming a member of the bloc generally takes years and involves hefty reforms to align with EU norms, including curbs on corruption. Popescu said his government is "working on reaching the necessary standards."

"We've done reasonably well in this reform process," Popescu said, "and we've also done reasonably well in the last year in keeping peace, calm and stability and freedom in our country in the face of this Russian brutal war against Ukraine that is having very, very negative effects on Moldova."

Russia has maintained a military presence in Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria since the 1990s under the banner of peacekeeping. Popescu called this presence "illegal."

"What we also know in Moldova is that Russia has been supporting separatism in Moldova for over 30 years," he said.

Edited by: Martin Kuebler