Moldova will not discuss the issue of joining NATO

Moldova does not plan to discuss the issue of joining NATO, said the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament Igor Grosu TV channel prime.

“To be frank, do we want this, is the problem of Moldova’s accession to NATO being raised, then I will say that this problem does not exist. This is to refute all speculation and all hysteria. The hypocrisy is that the separatist authorities on the left bank of the Dniester are much better equipped than the national army,” he said (quote according to RIA Novosti).

On January 21, Moldovan President Maia Sandu was asked by the Politico newspaper about the prospects for the republic’s membership in NATO answeredthat there is a serious discussion in the country about its ability to defend itself and the possibility of joining a “larger alliance”. The publication wrote that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict caused a “reassessment of values” in Moldova regarding the need to abandon its constitutionally enshrined neutrality. Sandu told Politico that the country is considering its next move.

“And if at some point we as a nation come to the conclusion that we need to change neutrality, this should happen through a democratic process,” the president added. Sandu also rejected the idea that Moldova’s actions to strengthen its defenses are provocative.

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov (KPRF) in January declaredthat the entry of Moldova into NATO could lead to the destruction of the statehood of this country.

After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, the Prime Minister of the Republic, Natalia Gavrilitsa, in an interview with Euronews in March 2022, said that Moldova wants to join the European Union, but does not plan to join NATO. Then she explained that the principle of neutrality is enshrined in the Constitution of the country.