Parliament speaker Grosso: Moldova does not plan to discuss accession to NATO
Moldova has no plans to discuss the problem of joining NATO, although the military in Transnistria is better equipped with weapons than the national army of the republic, parliamentary speaker and head of the ruling Action and Solidarity Party Igor Grosu said.
Earlier, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in an interview with Politico that the country should give up neutrality to join a large military alliance. The newspaper noted that Sandu did not specifically mention NATO, but had previously repeatedly said that the constitutional clause on the neutral status could be revised if the population favoured rapprochement with the North Atlantic Alliance. Also, representatives of the Moldovan Ministry of Defence have stated that they would like to strengthen the country’s defence capabilities and acquire the necessary weapons for this purpose, in particular, the need for an air defence system.
“If we talk frankly about whether we want it, whether there is a problem of Moldova joining NATO, I will say that there is no such problem. This is to refute all speculations and all hysteria. The hypocrisy is that the separatist authorities on the left bank of the Nistru River are much better equipped than the national army,” Grosu told Prime TV channel.
According to him, Transnistria has the possibility to use weapons from the warehouses in Colbasna.
The ammunition warehouse in the Transnistrian village of Colbasna, near the Ukrainian border, is one of the largest in Europe. On the territory of Transnistria there is an operational group of Russian troops, which is the successor of the 14th All-Soviet Army, which was transferred under Russian jurisdiction after the collapse of the USSR. The main tasks of the task force are peacekeeping mission and protection of ammunition depots. The initiative to remove or liquidate ammunition from ammunition depots in Transnistria was proposed by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu during his visit to Moldova in 2019. However, the two sides have never initiated a joint plan.
The UN General Assembly in June 2018 called on Russia to withdraw troops from Transnistria, a resolution supported by 64 states, opposed by 14, with another 83 countries abstaining. Earlier, Moldovan President Maia Sandu has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of the Russian military guarding ammunition depots in Transnistria.
Transdniestria, 60% of whose residents are Russians and Ukrainians, had been seeking secession from Moldova even before the break-up of the USSR, fearing that Moldova would join Romania on a wave of nationalism. In 1992, after a failed attempt by the Moldovan authorities to solve the problem by force, Transdniestria became a de facto territory outside Chisinau’s control.
RIA Novosti
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