The NATO Wales Summit impact discussed at a press club in Chisinau

Moldova should launch new collaborative partnerships with NATO, as its neutral status does not contradict with this kind of cooperation. This conclusion was reached by the participants at the press club on “NATO summit in Wales: expectations and requirements.” The event was organized by the Center for Information and Documentation on NATO in cooperation with the Centre for Investigative Journalism.

Mihai Carp, Deputy Director of Crisis Management Section of NATO Operations Division, said at the conference organized by the club that the summit of Wales is a history and it is taking place during a critical period.

Asked if, hypothetically speaking, in the current situation NATO would agree to accept the Republic of Moldova in its composition, Mihai Carp said that if the country would change its position and would submit an application to join NATO, the application would be considered by the member states, the collective interest would be taken into account, as well as Moldova’s capacity to contribute fully to the alliance initiatives.

Talking about the final resolution of the summit, Mihai Carp expressed confidence that Moldova will not only be mentioned in the paragraph dedicated to the partner states, but also in NATO’s position on the frozen conflicts. Also, according to the official, our country could be mentioned in the context of the crisis in Ukraine.

In other news, Mihai Carp stressed that NATO-Moldova partnership is fully compatible with the neutrality of our country, with the European aspirations of our country, and with good the relations between Moldova and Russia.

Present at the meeting, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Valeriu Chiveri said that the relations between Moldova and NATO have intensified in the recent years. Thus, in the current year the Republic of Moldova participates for the first time in a peacekeeping mission under NATO leadership.

Valeriu Chiveri noted that in terms of regional conflicts, Moldova expects the Summit’s support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country. Chisinau would like the Summit to launch an appeal to the Russian Federation on the withdrawal of military forces from the territory of Moldova.

Another participant at the club, the director of the European Institute of Public Policy, Viorel Cibotaru believes that authorities should endeavor to combat anti-NATO propaganda carried out in Moldova, and find resources for the necessary military equipment, and weapons of war with that should be used by our army to retaliate in case of aggression.

The political analyst Vasile Croitoru said that there are other countries that have the principle of neutrality stipulated in the constitution, but cooperates strongly with NATO. The expert noted that the association with the European Union means aligning to the EU defense policy, which will be different from that of NATO’s.

The NATO Summit in Wales has gathered leaders of the member and partner states in a dialogue on the following priority issues: The crisis in Ukraine and NATO-Russia relationship, the Future of Afghanistan, defining new threats, strengthening support for the Armed Forces, and strengthen partnerships. Moldova was represented at this event by the Defence Minister Valeriu Troenco who participated in the discussions on launching a new program to strengthen military capabilities along with other representatives from 23 states cooperating with NATO on the interoperability dimension.

Information and Documentation Centre on NATO team

Centre for Investigative Journalism team