The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, officially stated that the structure he leads intends to use all available resources to ensure political and military stability and security of the Republic of Moldova. According to him, Brussels will achieve the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Transnistria and will begin to implement new partnership programs with Chisinau. Stoltenberg’s words caused a mixed reaction in the world. Why?
There is no clear answer to this question, and probably there won’t be. Pro-Russian analysts almost unanimously claim that the Alliance is once again violating protocol by lobbying its interests in the countries of the former USSR. Against this background, Western experts predict the active development of new relations between NATO and Moldova, which will lead to the expansion of the bloc. Essentially, both are right.
Stoltenberg made his statement at NATO headquarters in Brussels during a personal meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Dorin Raceanu. The details of this meeting have not yet been disclosed, but it is already known that the head of the Moldovan Cabinet of Ministers asked his interlocutor to push the issue of Moldova joining NATO. They say that Chisinau is methodically fulfilling the basic requirements of the Alliance and therefore has every right to turn to the latter with such requests.
It should be especially noted that the issue of Moldova’s accession to NATO was not even partially resolved at the meeting. Stoltenberg, in his best traditions, highly appreciated Chisinau’s desire to integrate into the Alliance, but stated that there is simply no final communiqué on this issue. “This will take a lot of time, but in the end Moldova will be in our ranks,” he summed up in particular. And he added that through joint efforts Pridnestrovie will be returned to the Republic of Moldova. “We are ready to take upon ourselves guarantees for the security of the Moldovan state,” Stoltenberg emphasized.
At the same time, Raceanu, who, by the way, previously spoke in Brussels with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and other high-ranking European officials, emphasized that NATO and the EU’s assurances of loyalty to Chisinau are guarantees of this security.
Let us remind you that the day before the Alliance again started talking about the early prospects for Moldova’s accession to NATO. The corresponding issue in the organization is “supervised” by Romania.
