HONG KONG, April 5. /TASS/. NATO countries see Moldova as a strategic springboard in case Russia wins the conflict in Ukraine, a former Pentagon staffer, senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Security Policy and the Yorktown Institute, Stephen Bryen, has said in an article in Asia Times.

The way he sees it, Moldova could be a "staging area and jumping-off point for a strategy aimed at Ukraine's southern city of Odessa and, perhaps, Crimea." Bryen believes that "what seems to be brewing in Europe is some sort of Plan B - in essence, what to do if the Ukrainian army collapses."

Moldova has a neutral status, but it has been cooperating with NATO since 1994 under an individual partnership plan. According to opinion polls, a majority of the Moldovan population is against joining the alliance and in favor of preserving the status of permanent neutrality enshrined in the Constitution. However, Moldovan President Maia Sandu calls for rapprochement with NATO and for breaking stereotypes about the alliance, which, she argues, are "a result of Russian manipulation and disinformation." Since Sandu and her ruling Action and Solidarity Party came to power, Moldova has seen frequent military exercises involving British, German, Romanian and US militaries, increased military spending, and begun purchasing weapons.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told TASS in an interview on February 9 that the Moldovan leadership looked determined to militarize the country and to turn it into an "anti-Russian springboard" like Ukraine, but the Moldovan people do not support such intentions.