Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean questioned the effectiveness of the country’s neutral status – speaking in parliament on Wednesday, he said that the republic should develop defense capabilities.
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Earlier, the Moldovan authorities have repeatedly stated that in negotiations and meetings with Western partners, including NATO, they will touch upon the topic of strengthening and modernizing the country’s defense potential. In particular, the head of the Ministry of Defense Anatoly Nosatiy spoke about the need to create an air defense system, but the country now does not have the funds for this.
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“We have a threat, we need to clearly understand this. Neutrality was imposed on us as an instrument of foreign policy. That is why it follows from our strategy that we will attract not only tanks, planes, missiles into our space. We are faced with the task of developing in the defense sphere” , – Rechan said during a public hearing in Parliament on “National Security Strategy”.
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The Moldovan prime minister also said that Russia poses a threat to the security of Moldova. “For many years we had these geopolitical discussions and fluctuations, but today this fact is obvious to everyone,” Rechan added.
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Most residents of Moldova are in favor of maintaining economic, political and cultural ties with the Russian Federation, according to a poll published in mid-March by the Institute of Marketing and Sociological Surveys of the Republic. The survey also showed that more than half of Moldovans oppose the country’s withdrawal from the CIS, and that many citizens are dissatisfied with the standard of living and believe that the country’s leadership is guilty of raising the price of gas and electricity.
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According to the constitution of Moldova, the republic has a neutral status, but since 1994 the country has been cooperating with NATO within the framework of an individual partnership plan. The information center of the alliance operates in the capital of Moldova.
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In December 2017, a NATO liaison office was opened in Chisinau. Public opinion polls show that more than 60% of the Moldovan population opposes the country’s rapprochement with NATO.
