Ilie Ilascu: Moldova will join EU only after joining NATO

Moldova will not be able join the European Union, if it will not adhere to NATO, Romanian senator Ilie Ilascu declared on June 16, in Chisinau. According to the senator, NATO serves as a shield for the territories belonging to EU and the Republic of Moldova will be able to join the European community only together with the Euro-Atlantic structures. Ilascu considers as a farce the declared goal of the Moldovan leadership to join EU. The declarations of the leadership from Chisinau on this issue “are only some mumbles”, “the appeals for the press, can not serve as legal documents for Brussels”, Ilascu also declared. The senator states that he discussed on this topic with several officials from Romania, who claimed the lack of any initiative from the Moldovan side. “Romania can not impose to Moldova the European option”, the senator ended. The intentions of the leadership from Chisinau to enter the European Community are commented differently in Chisinau. When winning first time the elections, in 2001, the Communists’ Party intended to integrate Moldova into the Russian-Belarusian Union and to strengthen the collaboration with CIS. Further, the leadership changed radically the declared priorities of Moldova’s extern policies, which are, according to some analysts and politicians, only political declarations.