Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița admits that the Republic of Moldova should invest in the modernization and equipment of the National Army. The Premier said this area has been neglected for a period, but Moldova should strengthen its defense capacities given the new security threats. Now the authorities are considering whether to ask for military assistance or not, IPN reports.
Natalia Gavrilița said the Government this year increased the budget intended for the national defense. However, the sum is insufficient for modernizing and appropriately equipping the army. The status of neutrality stipulated in the Constitution does not mean neglecting the defense sector that became extremely important together with the regional security crisis.
“After the budget was amended, the spending for the army was raised by about 130 million lei. An important thing is that the European Union has new financing instruments for the defense sector and we will benefit from nonlethal external assistance that consists rather in the organization of the army. Neutrality should be protected. The citizens support the country’s neutrality, but this does not mean that we should not invest in capacities now that we face new threats and challenges,” Premier Natalia Gavrilița stated in the program “Thursday with Liliana Barbăroșie” on the public TV channel.
Earlier, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and U.S. congressmen announced their states’ readiness to help Moldova be equipped militarily according to NATO standards. But such support can be offered to Moldova only if the authorities make such a request.
“We asked for nonlethal assistance from our partners, for assistance for strengthening the capacities on the border, of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, We are discussing the provision of other types of assistance with European countries. We are to take a decision whether to ask for military assistance or not. We must admit that the munitions of the army are outdated, even those intended for training. No investment was made in this area for a period and we need to catch up,” said Natalia Gavrilița.
Minister of Defense Anatolie Nosatyi recently said that the army’s equipment was made in the 1960s-80s. The personnel of the National Army consist of 6,500 service members and 2,000 civilians.
