Timofti supports joining NATO

It is for the first time that Moldova’s President Nicolae Timofti has openly declared the necessity of his country joining NATO. In particular, Timofti said in an interview to Radio Liberty that if the decision depended on him, he would vote for it. “NATO membership would give Moldova an incomparably higher level of security, perhaps even full security,” said the president. Timofti described the current relations between Chisinau and the Alliance as “wonderful.” Let us remind that Article 11 of the country’s constitution states that Moldova is a neutral state.

Meanwhile, Moldova’s Prime Minister Iurie Leanca has already mentioned the possibility of Moldova reviewing the neutral status. “Joining a military bloc can become a goal. The actual situation should be thoroughly considered. A consensus with NATO must be reached, we have a frozen conflict, but at the same time, we have domestic public opinion with a negative attitude towards NATO,” he said.

The Day addressed political analyst Oazu NANTOI (Chisinau) with a request to comment upon President Timofti’s statement and the probability of Moldova joining NATO in the near future.

“There is a striking contrast between the self-sentiment of former Soviet republics that did not join NATO (Ukraine and Moldova) and the Baltic republics, which have been the Alliance members for 10 years. Despite all the talk about NATO looking for the sense of its existence over the past few years, the dramatic events in Ukraine, with Russia’s aggression against it, show that security issues on our continent are still relevant, unfortunately.

“The president of Moldova expressed his personal point of view, which he has a right to. It is unreal for us to join NATO until we settle the problem of the illegal occupation of a part of our territory by the Russian Federation, i.e. the Transnistrian conflict. We have to come a long way for the consciousness of our society to change and to join NATO. All our politicians, except for few right-wing ones, try to avoid this topic.

“Besides the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, joining NATO requires making changes to the current constitution. This can be based purely on the consensus within the society. Adopting a new constitution could be another solution, which is also possible if the society gives its consent. Therefore Moldova is feeling unprotected, but we are following the situation in your country and worrying about Ukraine. We wish to believe that not only The Day’s journalists, but at least a part of our citizens notice the point of view expressed by the Moldavian president.

“However, I do not think the situation in Ukraine can influence Moldavians much. In 2014 elections are to be held in Moldova. And only one fifth of our society thinks we should join NATO, while a half thinks that the neutral status is the key to solving our problems, which is not true. Russia is the only country that blatantly violates our sovereignty, territorial integrity, and neutral status as well, which does not allow the location of foreign troops on our territory. That is why this perspective can only be discussed if we cross two Rubicons this year, i.e., if we sign and ratify the Association Agreement with the European Union, and also hold a fair parliamentary election. Obviously, the latter will take place on November 30 (the date is previously discussed). If a functional pro-European majority is formed after the election, time for a public discussion of the issue will come. It is impossible to talk about the Republic of Moldova joining NATO without the change of consciousness.

“What can Russia’s reaction to Chisinau’s actions be? If it decides to interfere into Moldova’s internal affairs, it will always come up with a pretext. Just as Hitler did it in the Sudetenland and Putin in Crimea. Therefore, we should not be afraid of our own shadow. All we can do is regret we did not shut these Goebbels’ channels [Russian TV channels. – Ed.] last summer, when a certain Glazyev started educating us on the subject of what the Association Agreement is.”