Moldovan Foreign Minister Niku Popescu on Monday imposed European Union (EU) sanctions against oligarchs who have helped Russia destabilize the country, amid allegations of a plot by Moscow to topple the government. Popescu formulated an urgent appeal to the European bloc to include “corrupt politicians and oligarchs who, together with Russia, are trying to destabilize Moldova” to the black list of frozen assets and a ban on issuing visas, reports AFP.

Last year, the United States and Great Britain imposed sanctions against Moldovan tycoons Ilan Shor and Volodymyr Plahotniuk, who were accused of corruption in 2019. The former Soviet republic, located between Romania and Ukraine, is also facing the consequences of the war. A week ago, the president of Moldova accused Russia of plotting a coup, during which “saboteurs” would attack state institutions.

“This is not the first time that I see Moldova facing such a situation in the last year,” Popescu said in Brussels, where he attended a meeting with EU foreign ministers. Moldova and Ukraine have been granted the status of candidate countries to join the EU in 2022, at the beginning of a long and complex process that usually lasts several years.

Popescu said on Monday that “a key priority for us is to make our airspace and our society safer through access to air surveillance equipment and air defense equipment.” He called on Western powers to continue sending arms and support to help Ukrainian troops fight the Russian invasion as they defended Moldova. Last week, the Russian Chancellery officially denied the “plan to destabilize Moldova”, noting that these are “absolutely unfounded” statements.