US spent ‘tens of millions’ in Moldova – former USAID chief

Samantha Power has admitted that Washington financially supported the pro-Western candidate in the last presidential election

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) invested tens of millions of dollars in Moldova to support pro-EU President Maya Sandu, former USAID chief Samantha Power has admitted in a call with Russian pranksters.

Speaking to Vovan and Lexus, who apparently pretended to be Western officials, Power recalled that under her leadership, USAID made “unprecedented investments” in Moldova and “massively” expanded its presence in the country.

She recalled that in the USAID supplementals designated for Ukraine, there was always “tens of millions of dollars” earmarked for Moldova and noted that these funds “went much more further in Moldova than in Ukraine” given the country’s small size.

However, she bemoaned the fact that US President Donald Trump has halted all spending on the country since coming into office and dismantled USAID. Trump had previously said the agency was run by “radical lunatics” and officially dissolved it last month, with the remnants being absorbed into the State Department.

Power added that the halt in funding to Moldova was particularly concerning ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country, noting that Sandu had only narrowly managed to retain her post in the last election. Power described Sandu as a “democratic bright spot,” recalling that she had graduated from the Kennedy School of Harvard University.

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Power suggested that with Trump going to the sidelines on Moldova, it was now up to Europe and people like French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to step in and play a more “important” role.

Power’s comments come as Sandu’s government has faced mounting accusations of eroding democracy by banning opposition parties and cracking down on Eurosceptic politicians and journalists. Earlier this month, Moldovan authorities also sentenced Gagauzia Governor Evgenia Gutsul, who advocated for closer ties with Russia, to seven years in prison.

Russia has slammed Sandu and her government as blatantly Russophobic for targeting politicians and media that favor better relations with Moscow. Russian officials have also condemned Gutsul’s arrest as evidence the EU was forging a “liberal dictatorship” in Moldova.