There is no consensus in society as regards Moldova’s eventual entry into NATO, said PAS MP Dan Perciun. According to him, most of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova do not support the idea of joining NATO because the Russian Federation during tens of years has discredited NATO. At the same time, representatives of the extraparliamentary parties said that in Moldova there is no sufficient political will for a solid partnership with NATO as the government chooses to hide behind the status of neutrality, IPN reports.
According to the MP of the ruling party PAS Dan Perciun, the situation of Finland that recently became the 31st NATO member state is not comparable with Moldova’s situation
“In the Republic of Moldova, we do not have a consensus in society on the issue and such a state of affairs is also due to the influence of the Russian Federation that did its best in time to discredit this idea and to make sure that the largest part of the population of the Republic of Moldova is not in favor of entry into NATO. We have an army that was underfinanced in time. We are making effort to invest more in the army. We increased the budget by 50% this year and fully accept the support of foreign partners that want to contribute to modernizing the National Army. What we do now is to strengthen the National Army’s capacities. Meanwhile, a public discussion should be held to consider the pluses, minuses, risks and when there is a majority that supports such an idea and the amendment of the Constitution, we can really discuss such a perspective. Until then, we have the status of neutrality,” Dan Perciun stated in the program “Secrets of the Power” on JurnalTV channel.
For his part, the chairman of the Coalition for Unity and Welfare (CUB) Igor Munteanu said the government has instruments to intensify the partnerships with military alliances that will contribute to improving Moldova’s defense capabilities.
“We are a small, extremely vulnerable state that is awkward and undecided in terms of its security and defense policy. Even this unhappy provision from the Constitution concerning neutrality can be supplemented with advanced partnerships with NATO and the neighboring states. This is not banned. Other neutral states also signed technical intensified cooperation agreements in the field of security. If there is will, there are views and strategies, we can find solutions without hiding behind outdated constitutional provisions,” stated Igor Munteanu.
The representative of the Party “Dignity and Truth Platform” Liviu Vovc admitted that Moldovan society is against entry into NATO and an eventual referendum on the issue will fail. In the conditions of neutrality, the authorities are obliged to modernize the National Army and to strengthen the country’s defense system.
“We, as a political party, prefer to be realistic, not populist. We understand that votes are needed in Parliament to modernize the Constitution. At the moment, these votes are absent and a constitutional referendum will fail regrettably. It will fail as Russian propaganda continues being at home in the Republic of Moldova. Even if some of the TV channels were closed, in the country’s regions, primarily in Gagauzia, the people are inventive, have parabolic antennas and continue to watch all the Russian scarecrows. Since the start of the war, PPDA has insisted on the strengthening of defense systems so that we have an air defense system at least,” noted ex-MP Liviu Vovc.
Under Article 11 of the Constitution, the Republic of Moldova is a neutral state and does not allowed military troops of other states to be deployed in its territory.
