DHAKA: German chancellor Angela Merkel accused Russia on Sunday of interfering in the domestic affairs of numerous countries that are seeking closer ties to the European Union.

‘Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine are three countries in our eastern neighbourhood that have taken sovereign decisions to sign an association agreement with the EU,’ Merkel told German daily Die Welt in an interview, reports The Straits Times.

‘Russia is creating problems for all three of these countries,’ she said, pointing to ‘frozen conflicts’ in breakaway regions like Transdniestria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as Russian interference in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow has shown its displeasure with Moldova’s pro-European course, confirmed in an election last week in which a pro-Russian candidate was prevented from participating, by banning imports of Moldovan wines, vegetables and meat.

Last month Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a ‘strategic partnership’ agreement with Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia, drawing strong criticism from NATO and the EU.

BDST: 1646 HRS, DEC 07, 2014