Thirty-six military vehicles used within the Moldova-U.S. exercise “Dragon Pioneer 2016” were displayed in the Great National Assembly Square in order to commemorate the victims of World War II. Of these, 24 vehicles belong to the U.S. Army, while 12 to the National Army. The event also involved soldiers of the U.S. 2nd Cavalry Regiment, who are taking part in the joint exercise “Dragon Pioneer” held in Moldova, and soldiers of the National Army, IPN reports.
Initially, it was planned that the exhibit will be mounted on May 9, but later the authorities decided to organize it one day earlier. Minister of Defense Anatol Salaru said the exhibition was staged on May 8 because the largest part of Europe and the U.S. celebrate the end of World War II on this day.
The minister noted that the Embassy of Russia in Chisinau was invited to take part in the exhibition set initially for May 9, alongside the U.S. soldiers, but the invitation was turned down. “Together with the U.S. partners, we discussed such a possibility. They themselves asked us to invite the Russian side so that we stayed here together and could make a comparison. It was probably the only occasion when we could stay together. But the Russian side rejected the invitation, invoking different reasons,” stated Anatol Salaru.
Socialist MPs and councilors of the Chisinau Council protested against the display of U.S. military vehicles and against the presence of U.S. soldiers in the central square of Chisinau. The Socialists laid funeral wreaths on the U.S. military vehicles, saying they did it in memory of those killed in the military operations staged by NATO in Syria, Libya, Yugoslavia and other countries.
The exhibition of military vehicles in the Great National Assembly Square of Chisinau ended on May 8.
