The NATO Liaison Office opened in Chisinau on December 8 does not violate Moldova’s neutrality. The Office is a diplomatic mission whose goal is to inform the citizens about NATO, Victor Juc, vice director of the Institute of Legal and Political Research of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, stated in the program “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel, IPN reports.
“The North Atlantic Treaty Organization recognizes and fully respects the neutrality of the Republic of Moldova. NATO put Moldova on the list of states that do not have aspirations to come closer or integrate into it now or in the more distant future,” stated Victor Juc.
According to him, one of the main roles of the Office is to ensure strategic communication and inform the public opinion about NATO, the opportunity for promoting democratic and modernization reforms. At the same time, the relations between Moldova and NATO focus on the political dialogue, non-military cooperation and assistance and modernization of the armed forces.
Journalist Octavian Bratosin said the NATO Office opened in Chisinau is a civil one and its goal is to explain and disseminate the actions taken by NATO in concert with Moldova. Furthermore, within the Moldova - NATO cooperation so far, the Alliance offered financial support to Moldova to the value of over US$4 million, including for destroying pesticides, expired munitions and old fuel. “These are NATO funds provided to Moldova for removing these noxious things from the country’s territory,” stated Octavian Bratosin.
The NATO Liaison Office in Chisinau was inaugurated on December 8. In the opening ceremony, it was reiterated that this is a diplomatic mission of experts from Moldova’s development partner states. It has no military implications and was set up in accordance with the provisions of the agreement that was signed by Prime Minister Pavel Filip and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on November 29, 2016.
