MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. The European Union has begun developing plans for Moldova, Ukraine, and Armenia to become part of the association, a move that directly affects Russia's strategic stability, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin said.

"We must take into account the European Union’s claims of further expansion. They began developing plans to admit states such as Moldova, Ukraine, and Armenia. These plans directly affect the strategic security of our homeland," he said at a roundtable discussion held by the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs together with the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security on the topic "Threats to the National Security of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Militarization of the European Union."

He said that earlier European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said that the Transnistrian conflict "is not an obstacle to Moldova’s accession to the European Union." "This statement indicates readiness to admit a state whose territory, according to the 1992 Treaty on the Principles of Peaceful Settlement, is home to Russian military personnel. Moldova's accession to the European Union in such circumstances also threatens a direct conflict between our country and the European Union," the senator said, noting that a similar situation could arise in the case of the "absorption of modern Ukraine by the European Union."

Currently, the European Union, according to the parliamentarian, does not have a territorial conflict with Russia. However, it may arise if "Ukraine is accepted in Europe without recognizing the will of the people of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, Crimea and Sevastopol to join Russia."

"Let me remind you that Europeans are stating their readiness to deploy their troops in Ukraine, which, naturally, carries the risk of direct confrontation with us. As [Russian President Vladimir] Putin noted: ‘Russia does not threaten and has no intention of threatening European countries.’ This understanding is also reaching the peoples of European countries, as evidenced, in particular, by the popularity of some opposition parties, particularly in Germany and France. We hope for a shift towards common sense in the largest states of the European Union," Karasin said.