The United States are not very happy about this ‘friendship’ with the Moldovan government, but it is accepted as a partner with decision-making ability until the 2018 election that could produce a new government. This was stated by the political analyst Igor Volnițchi at a talk show on 10TV.

The analyst said the United States is normally guided by the interest to have a partner among those with decision-making power. “But I don’t thing the United States is very happy about this ‘friendship’ with the regime in Chisinau, because the Americans, like the Europeans, understand very well who the current Moldovan leaders really are”, said Igor Volnițchi.

He added that the United States would perhaps wish for more credible partners, “like Maia Sandu, Andrei Năstase” or other forces. “But until such forces come to power, the United States will prefer to openly work with those who it can rely on at the moment”.

Igor Volnițchi thinks Moldova is now in a context that no one could have expected a year ago – if Ukraine is successful in securing NATO membership by 2020, Moldova will find itself sandwiched between two members of the Alliance.

“The sad part is that Moldova has a piece of land controlled by a separatist regime. Moldova has on its soil a foreign military presence, even if the Constitution proclaims the principle of neutrality. Moreover, in the eastern part of Moldova we have the largest uncontrolled ammunition depot in Europe. All this shows how important Moldova is for NATO, because all this could end up being within the bounds of the Alliance”, says Igor Volnițchi