Europe wary of new tensions with Russia over Moldova

Protests against Moldova's Communist rulers are the latest threat to stability on the European Union's eastern border but the bloc is wary of wading into a row that could stoke wider tensions with Russia.

Moldova's Communist president, Vladimir Voronin, accused neighbouring Romania yesterday of trying to overthrow his government and ordered mass arrests of protesters in Europe's poorest state. Moldova's former Soviet master, Russia, backed his allegation of foreign interference, but Romania, a Nato and EU member, rejected the veteran leader's words as a "provocation".

Western powers urged all sides to keep calm and avoid a repeat of Tuesday's post-election riots in which one person died, more than 270 people were injured and 193 were arrested. The European Union said it was deeply concerned about escalating tensions.Western diplomats say it is too early to judge whether street anger at alleged vote-rigging in a weekend election won by the incumbents will lead to a change of power, as seen in Georgia, Ukraine and other ex-Soviet states.

But Moscow's move yesterday to join President Vladimir Voronin in blaming neighbour and EU-member Romania for stoking the violence - an accusation denied by Bucharest - highlighted the risk of escalation.

"The EU should go and it should go now," said Andrew Wilson at London's European Council on Foreign Relations, urging EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to go to Moldova and act as a mediator between the government and opposition.

"But, yes, that would annoy the hell out of Russia," he said of the possibility for new Russia-West tensions just as US President Barack Obama is offering Moscow a fresh start.

Europe and Russia have been jostling for years over the group of ex-Soviet states Moscow calls its "near abroad" and which Brussels refers to as its eastern neighbours.

Moscow sees Nato's enlargement eastwards as an aggression, while Europe and the United States accuse Russia of using its dominance to bully neighbours.

Ukraine, the main transit route for Russian gas exports to Europe, clashed with Russia in January in a dispute that cut supplies to many European countries in the middle of winter.

A fresh dispute over supplies is now brewing between the two neighbours, and oil and gas export routes to Western markets are a constant source of tension between Russia, its former Soviet satellite states and the West. Russia has flexed its military muscle too. Georgia lost a five-day war with Russia in August when Moscow sent in troops and tanks to repel Tbilisi's bid to seize back a pro-Moscow breakaway region.