Moldovan Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu said on Wednesday he had discussed deepening the NATO partnership with his counterparts from NATO member states with a view to strengthening his country's defense capabilitie
CHISINAU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2023) Moldovan Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu said on Wednesday he had discussed deepening the NATO partnership with his counterparts from NATO member states with a view to strengthening his country's defense capabilities.
"We have discussed issues of regional security and ways to deepen our partnership with NATO. We highly appreciate the contribution of NATO member states in the defense capacity building initiative," Popescu said on Telegram.
On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius the top Moldovan diplomat talked, in particular, with the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Slovenia, Greece, Romania, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana.
Popescu welcomed the final declaration of NATO member states, in which they acknowledged the progress Moldova has made in promoting reforms and democratic norms, and supported the country's aspiration to EU membership. Moreover, Moldova's allies in NATO vowed to reinforce their political and practical support for the nation in order to strengthen its defense capabilities, Popescu said.
In January, Moldovan President Maia Sandu told Politico that Chisinau should abandon neutrality to join a large military alliance, although she did not mention NATO specifically then. At the same time, Sandu has mentioned on multiple occasions that if the population votes in favor of joining NATO, the article of the constitution on the country's neutral status could be revised.
Under the current constitution, Moldova has a neutral status, but has been cooperating with NATO within the framework of an individual partnership since 1994. An alliance information center operates in Chisinau. Moreover, a NATO liaison office opened in the city in December, 2017.
