“We respect the neutrality of the Republic of Moldova. This decision belongs exclusively to the people,” stated the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rasa Jukneviciene. While in Chisinau on a visit, the official said the Republic of Moldova is a partner that takes part in the Partnership for Peace, in the NATO mission in Kosovo and it is helped by NATO to do reforms.
“Our interest is for the Republic of Moldova to be a democratic state. It is up to it to choose the path – neutrality or another one. For us, peace is the most important thing,” Rasa Jukneviciene stated in an interview for Radio Free Europe, being quoted by IPN. “Reforms are needed not for NATO or the EU, but for the population. I will give the example of my state. When we joined the EU, we had a number of so-called cartes blanche in which each ministry indicated the reforms that were to be done. The reward came later. Currently Lithuania is in the EU and in NATO,” stated the president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
According to her, no one in Lithuania, except for some marginal groups only, challenge the benefits of this situation. On the contrary, after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, everyone understood that this membership is rescuing.
Rasa Jukneviciene reiterated that her visit is not related to Moldova’s option for neutrality. “This is the choice of the Republic of Moldova. I can only say that Lithuania chose another path. In 1993, all the political parties sat at a negotiating table and then announced that we will follow this path. Later Parliaments adopted the strategy that clearly specifies the direction we follow and our priorities. But this is the choice of each people,” stated the official.
