Moldova not seeking NATO membership due to low public support: PM
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Moldova's Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi says his country is not pursuing NATO membership due to limited public backing.
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Moldova's Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi, attends a joint news conference with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (AP)
Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi declared that Moldova currently has no plans to consider NATO membership, pointing to broad public disapproval, and urging for a thorough discussion on the subject.
"As for cooperation with NATO or some kind of NATO membership, it is out of the question at the moment because there is not enough public support for it," Popsoi said in an interview with RTVI that was broadcast on Wednesday.
The Minister highlighted that Moldova's neutrality prevents it from entering military alliances, but it doesn't obstruct political collaboration, including in security affairs. Given the prevalent negative sentiment toward NATO among Moldovans, Popsoi underscored the importance of launching a broad discussion on the issue.
"We need to have a open public debate about the pros and cons and decide through this democratic process. But it will be a more long-term prospect. At the moment, there are no discussions about joining [NATO] or any closer cooperation other than what we have had so far," the minister said.
Last year, former Moldovan Parliament President Igor Grosu said in February that there was no local debate about whether or not to seek membership in NATO, even though the president and the government had earlier statements calling for abandoning neutrality and joining a military alliance.
"Frankly speaking, when asked whether we want this, whether the issue of Moldova possibly joining NATO is raised, I will say that there is no such issue. [I say this] to reject all the speculation and hysteria. The hypocrisy is that the separatist authorities on the left bank of the Dniester River are much better equipped than our national army," Grosu told Moldovan broadcaster Prime, referring to breakaway Transnistria, a separatist province where Russian troops are stationed at the request of local authorities.
A month before, in January, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that the country should abandon neutrality to be admitted to military alliances. While NATO was not specifically mentioned, she had repeatedly said that if Moldovans decide they want rapprochement with NATO, the neutrality clause of the constitution could be revised.
