The joining of the North-Atlantic Alliance should become a priority for the Republic of Moldova, as the entry into the European Union became, said the leader of the Moldovan National Party Dragoș Galbur. According to him, the entry into NATO will ensure peace and security in the Republic of Moldova, but a large part of the political class in Chisinau hasn’t assumed this rhetoric. For his part, the representative of the ruling party Vasile Grădinaru said the development of the defense system by equipping the National Army is now the government’s priority, IPN reports.
Political commentator Anatol Țăranu said the pro-NATO messages are absent in the government’s communication strategy as the politicians aim to gain pollical benefits and the pro-NATO rhetoric is not supported by a large part of Moldova’s population.
“Polls show that two of three Moldovans are against entry into NATO. Any politician who makes statements abides by electoral reasons first of all. Saying today that you are for entry into NATO means coming into contradiction with two thirds of society. Those who say that neutrality is only a paper that doesn’t guarantee anything are perfectly right. But the current government speaks about neutrality also as about something that needs to be strengthened and it abides by electoral reasons. But any government, when coming to power, has at least four years and during this period it needs to create an electoral segment that changes its mentality. If you act exclusively according to the state of spirit in society, you risk stopping development,” Anatol Țăranu stated in the program “At 360 Degrees” on Radio Moldova station.
In the same connection, representatives of the extra parliamentary opposition said that the joining of NATO would ensure Moldova’s security and would defend it from an eventual military attack on the part of Russia.
“Our road to the European Union should be accompanied by the message that the Republic of Moldova can no longer be a neutral state and the obtaining of the NATO member status should become a priority, as the joining of the European Union is. I see this desideratum in tandem, not separately. The pressing problem of the Republic of Moldova is today related to national security. We should not expect that the Russians will give up so easily, no matter where the frontline is blocked. Vladimir Putin, in his sick mind, see the Republic of Moldova as a part of the Russian world. That’s why he will definitely not renounce the Republic of Moldova. But the pro-NATO message doesn’t exist in Chisinau at present. Neither the government, nor the political parties openly say that the Republic of Moldova should become part of NATO. We directly assume the pro-NATO message. Our option is to become a NATO member and an EU member,” said the chairman of the Moldovan National Party Dragoș Galbur.
For their part, representatives of the government said that they set the goal of strengthening the country’s defense capacity and the budget intended for the national defense was considerably increased and external partnerships to equip the army are being agreed.
“On the one hand, we increased the budget for the defense even if the conditions are harsh. On the other hand, we are establishing foreign partnerships with our development partners on two dimensions. In the diplomatic sector, we seek to ensure support in the eventually of an attack on the Republic of Moldova. We
