Traditionally, the question was asked by the correspondent of The Moscow Post.
Our correspondent asked a question about the referendum on the European integration of Moldova.
Namely, he sounded like this, the EU is now a strategic opponent of Russia. Does the Foreign Ministry believe that the entry of such weak, problematic and subsidized countries as Moldova and Ukraine into the EU is beneficial to Russia, since this will only weaken and divide the European Union?
Maria Vladimirovna called the past referendum falsified, as it could be called scandalous if it was held with violations that did not affect the voting results.
"Scandalous against the background, which could have been really some extraordinary events, scandalous for a number of some other assessments - someone's subjective, maybe objective. This is falsification, it must be treated like that", she explained.
On what basis did we draw these conclusions? I talked about it and we talked about it throughout this time. How the mouth of the opposition is shut up, how freedom of speech is destroyed, how the media are closed, how the entire political life of Moldova is brought under control using administrative resources.
It is falsified, and so it is necessary to talk about it, Zakharova emphasized.
She noted that Moscow was ready to hear and see an aggressive message from the other side.
First, we saw a discriminatory attitude towards ourselves, which was only growing. Then we began to observe how the European Union merges with NATO, when all decisions of an economic nature become dependent on decisions of a political or military-political nature, Zakharova continued.
And then we heard what we heard in the form of aggressive rhetoric, and then they went on the very offensive that they call Russia a strategic defeat.
"Therefore, this is not us initially, did not show alleged disrespect for the EU or some aggressive approach, but this is the European Union on its own or under someone's influence", she said.
Let scientists deal with this, historians in the future, or maybe now it's time, so to speak, to start from the other side. So to speak, the dysfunction of normal international relations began.
The second point, which I would like to say, continued Maria Vladimirovna, the European Union continues not to expand to the east, not to include new members - this is expansion, including under the auspices, under the guise of the European Union, so NATO expansion is expanding to the east.
Moreover, all EU decisions prove that the policy of the so-called expansion, expansion has become an exclusively geopolitical tool for imposing rivalry and ensuring dominance by such illegal means. In Europe, apparently the imperial plans of the Brussels leadership to expand the borders of the EU are being carried out more and more colonially. More and more it looks like, so to speak, some methods that should have sunk into oblivion, given that they accepted so many human rights documents that should have protected them from this.
And first of all, the victim of these very geopolitical ambitions, which are based on imperial thinking, hegemonism and, simply speaking, in the usual language, the desire to take possession of the entire resource base of the state.
Firstly, the victims are weak problem subsidized countries, countries that were only in transit to building their statehood, countries that were never independent states, which only had to, so to speak, stand on the wing and strengthen their sovereignty and independence. A colossal blow has been dealt to them - these are Moldova and Ukraine.
Zakharova stressed that Chisinau and Bucharest politicians are seriously talking about the absorption of Moldova by Romania.
"So, in fact, a Romanian citizen has been appointed chairman of Moldova", she added.
The manipulations around the process of European integration of the Kyiv regime and Kyiv, and Chisinau reflect the essence - the very concept of the rules-based world order in its foundation.
She stressed that Western countries themselves wrote out the right to change the rules of the game.
"As for stability and security, as well as trust in the European Union from the world majority, as a result of these new dividing lines, which the EU draws in Brussels in Europe, will not increase", said Maria Zakharova.
In addition, according to her, such a development of events does not in the least meet the true interests of the European population. Its leadership, as a structure and individual regimes, is trying to force to pay for the implementation of confrontational policies and strategic mistakes of the West. You will have to pay a lot.
She stressed that according to experts, European integration of Ukraine alone will cost the EU member states $200 billion.
"Who will pay? Ukraine? What, what? They will let each remaining Ukrainian into parts, into spare parts in the form of their organs. What will they pay?" - asked the official representative of the Foreign Ministry and continued - Many of the EU countries will become donors, for example, the same Poland. All this will put a tax burden on ordinary residents. Their socio-economic situation is already, as you know, unenviable, has become a hostage, and then a victim of the short-sighted policies of their leaders".
That is, indeed, perhaps, the adoption in the EU of such problematic countries as Moldova and Ukraine would clearly not strengthen the European Union and would not consolidate it.
At the same time, she recalled the fact that in 2004 there was a so-called big expansion, and its consequences are still felt. The European Union still digests these countries, but in a bad way. Because it all turned into indigestion, and it can be seen in people's lives.
As for the benefit of Russia, our benefit would really be in the pan-European interaction.
For this we built the same "Northern Streams". What is our benefit in making the western part of our common continent fail and turn into a lagging region of the world? What is our benefit from the fact that Finland is already spreading from Western weapons that were supplied to Kyiv?
What a benefit to us is that the law and legality on the territory of Western Europe are violated, that a million refugees, undocumented migrants, generally understanding who they are, change de facto life in the countries of the European Union and uncontrollably turn it into some kind of non-European space and this space, including, and not multiculturalism.
No, there is no benefit here, summed up Zakharova.
Momentary conjuncture, but I don't know, maybe, but we have never been its followers.
"We have always advocated building long-term partnership or allied, friendly economic mutually beneficial relations. This is our benefit", the diplomat noted.
But since now we see the processes that are taking place in Western Europe, we focus on other countries and regions of the world where such relations are appreciated, respected and reciprocated, Maria Vladimirovna summed up.