The former president of the Constitutional Court (CC) Alexandru Tănase noted that the constitutional provision saying that the Republic of Moldova is a neutral state can be applied only in times of peace, when there are no risks to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. The Government of the Republic of Moldova can decide to take military action if the country is in danger. For their part, representatives of the government said the citizens will be those who will decide the political course that should be followed and if a military bloc should be joined or not, IPN reports.

The ex-president of the CC said the Supreme Law’s article on the country’s neutrality becomes null and void if the Republic of Moldova is attacked or is at risk of being attacked.

“There is a Constitutional Court decision of 2017 according to which, if the constitutional values are encroached upon, this clause on permanent neutrality does not work and the Government is not only empowered, but is even obliged to take all the measures to form political or other kinds of alliances to save the state,” Alexandru Tănase stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.

Representatives of the ruling party said the people’s sovereign right to decide their fate is one of the supreme values of democracy. According to PAS MPs, the citizens will be those who will decide if they want Moldova to join the EU and NATO.

“Sovereignty means the right of the nation, the people to decide their fate. In 2014, the Maidan was mounted after Ukraine clearly showed that it wants to be part of the European project. Ukraine now has the sovereign right to decide if it wants to join NATO or not. But the presence of NATO on Russia’s borders is seen as a direct threat,” said PAS MP Virgiliu Pîslariuc.

Political commentator noted Russia aims to economically subjugate Ukraine and the other former Soviet republics and to keep them in its sphere of influence.

“After the fall of the Soviet Union, everything possible was done for the countries that gained independence and freedom not to be free and independent. In Transnistria, they tested a model of conservation of the Soviet Union. Russia wants to conserve enclaves that would guarantee a bridgehead for whole regions. The West’s sanctions are important, but are not decisive for changing Russia’s doctrine to restore the empire. They use hybrid warfare, propaganda to keep the population in the past, connected to a fully outdated system that has nothing to do with the civilized world,” stated Alecu Reniță, a member of Moldova’s first Parliament.

President Maia Sandu earlier said that the Republic of Moldova firmly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and condemns the recognition by Russia of the breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.