The Republic of Moldova is not ready for joining NATO, and the controversies created around this subject are part of the hybrid war, the Moldovan Minister of Defense Anatolie Nosatîi declared on Tuesday evening at a local television station, in which he wanted to clarify, however, that membership in a military alliance does not necessarily imply joining NATO, IPN.md, Radio Chisinau and EFE report on Wednesday.
Discussions regarding the revision of the neutrality status are the prerogative of politicians, and a possible decision regarding joining a military alliance must be taken after an extensive consultation process with the citizens, he emphasized. “Regrettably, the field of defense has been forgotten, no investments have been made, therefore we cannot face the challenges of today. Our status of neutrality has left us alone and with a defense system that is not relevant in the current situation”, underlined Anatolie Nosatîi.
According to him, the army – estimated at approximately 6,500 professional soldiers (plus 2,000 soldiers who do mandatory military service every year) – has so far received “little attention”, notes EFE. In this regard, he pleaded for the creation of military alliances without renouncing the neutrality enshrined in the Constitution.
In a recent interview for Politico, President Maia Sandu mentioned that, currently, serious discussions are taking place, whether the Republic of Moldova can ensure its own security or whether it is necessary to belong to a larger alliance. In this context, the Minister of Defense claims that renouncing the status of neutrality must coincide with the people’s desire to be part of a military bloc or not.
According to the Defense minister, the Republic of Moldova is far from reaching the standards of NATO member countries. “Everyone circulates the idea of NATO, but the lady president did not mention NATO, but an alliance. And alliances are different, there are local, regional alliances. But all those who want to manipulate this subject invoked NATO“, emphasized the Moldovan defense minister.
“NATO is a very strong political-military alliance, and the desire to become a member is not enough. You have to cope, be accepted, implement standards in the system of training, equipment. First of all, this is not even discussed now, but we are not ready either. It is a discussion only to create polemics in society, to distract attention from other problems. First of all, we must see what the citizens of the Republic of Moldova want,” argued Anatolie Nosatîi.
President Maia Sandu’s statement regarding the possibility of joining an alliance generated a wave of criticism, with the Russian Federation accusing the Chisinau government of trying to drag the country into war and threatening Chisinau again with the “repetition of the Ukrainian scenario”. The Russian vice-president of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, Andrei Klimov, asked rhetorically if Maia Sandu wants to make the Republic of Moldova “a province of Romania, the most backward country in NATO”.