Speech by Minister of Defense Anatol Salaru at NATO Summit

Speech by Defense Minister Anatol Salaru

at the meeting in Interoperability format at the level of Defense Ministers

of NATO member states and partners

NATO Summit, Warsaw, Poland

Excellency,

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity for the Republic of Moldova to participate in the Summit in Warsaw, a fact that reconfirms the mutual trust and proves that Moldova is following the right direction. The fact that our country is, by constitution, a neutral state does not mean that there are no threats of non-military confrontation. Propaganda, economical measures, the unsolved issue of Transnistria and the presence of Russian troops are constant reasons for concern.

In the framework of establishing the adjustment and management measures for crisis situations, it is crucial to give priority to the building and development of the defense capacity of the Allied and partner countries from high risk regions. We must work together in order to identify long-term solutions that would anticipate and prevent eventual crisis situations.

From Moldova’s point of view, the relations with NATO and the partner countries are based on 4 values and principles:

The first one is the cooperation. This principle is materialized by our participation in exercises and military trainings within the Partnership for Peace, thus allowing our soldiers to become interoperable with soldiers from NATO countries. An important result in this sense is the participation of a National Army contingent in the KFOR mission in Kosovo. Moreover, in the future, the Republic of Moldova wishes to participate in more international peacekeeping missions. Another important aspect is that we currently are in the final stage of negotiations for signing an agreement on opening a NATO Liaison Office in Moldova.

The second principle is flexibility. Today, we need not only a strong commitment regarding Moldova-NATO partnership, but we need to translate it into practice by identifying and managing the mutual challenges. If for NATO it is imperative to consolidate its Eastern borders, the security concerns of the partner countries from this region are continuing to lead to the necessity of ensuring the preconditions of state’s existence.

The third principle is credibility. The commitment between the Alliance and non-member countries from the Eastern flank must be concrete and credible for both, the concerned parties and the external actors. We underline that our actions and measures aim to ensure Moldova’s defense capacity building and do not aim to provoke any country or organization.

Last but not least, it is necessary to increase the level of interoperability of the armed forces. Thus, in 2019, we would like to host a NATO/PfP exercise of REGEX type in the Republic of Moldova, in order to create a platform for establishing a permanent regional training center.

Dear friends,

For 25 years the Russian Federation troops have been illegally stationed on Moldova’s territory. We ask you to support our initiative to transform Moldova’s mission in Transnistria into a multinational civil mission, while the Russian army and ammunition are evacuated from our territory, in compliance with its international commitments.

To conclude, I would like to reiterate that the Republic of Moldova relies on your further support in our defense capacity building process, a commitment expressed through the DCBI. At the same time, the Republic of Moldova will make every effort to become a reliable partner of the Alliance.

Thank you.

Photo: Nato.int