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West delivered $500 mln worth of weapons to Moldova in 6 months, opposition leader says

"The West, as it always does, loves to create platforms for wars that it will not fight with its own hands," Ilan Shor stressed

MOSCOW, May 29. /TASS/. In the past 6 months, Western states shipped $500 million worth of weapons to Moldova, leader of the opposition Victory Bloc Ilan Shor said during a press conference.

"I know that, in the past 6 months, $500 million worth of weapons were delivered to Moldova. If you ask me, why a country where 1.8 million people live, more or less, with 70% of them being pensioners, needs half a billion dollar worth of weapons, then the answer is very clear. The West, as it always does, loves to create platforms for wars that it will not fight with its own hands. Of course, they definitely prepare Moldova for that. And we see it," he said.

Meanwhile, Shor noted that he does not know what aid package can US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who currently visits Chisinau, promise to Moldova.

"In regards to Blinken’s arrival: our mistress has arrived, who will preach something to her hired managers [representatives of Moldovan authorities - TASS], tell them about politics, tell them how to live," he added.

Moldova is a neutral state; however, since 1994, it has been cooperating with NATO within the individual partnership plan. According to opinion polls, most of the population oppose the republic’s accession to the alliance and favor the preservation of constant neutrality, enshrined in the Constitution. A poll, carried out under request of the Institute for European Policies and Reforms, suggested that 60% of respondents oppose the abolition of neutrality.

President of Moldova Maia Sandu calls for rapprochement with NATO, noting the need to "shatter the stereotypes about the alliance." Prime Minister Dorin Recean called to initiate a campaign on the benefit of accession to NATO for the people of the republic. The decision to increase military spending at a time when a country experiences a brutal economic crisis was criticized by both the opposition and the public. The authorities of the autonomous region of Gagauzia and the unrecognized republic of Transnistria also stated their concern over the frequent NATO military exercises in Moldova.

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