Moldova doesn’t need an army; all it needs is special services trained to respond if need be. This was one of the conclusions of Friday’s “Glavny vopros” talk show on NTV Moldova.

“In my opinion, we need professional full-time soldiers, like the national guard in other countries, or carabineers to respond in exceptional situations”, said journalist Alexandr Stahurski.

Politologist Boris Shapovalov agreed. If Moldova as a neutral state cannot stand up to countries like Romania and Ukraine in a potential conflict, Shapovalov asks why do we even need an army in the first place, especially if we are too poor to afford one.

However, the political pundit Cornel Ciurea says that considering the regional developments, Moldova does need an army, and a good one, too. In case of an attack, the army could resist for a short period, buying us some time until help can come from outside.