CHISINAU, July 24. /TASS/. The Moldovan opposition has called on the pro-Western government to release its plans on cooperation with NATO as well as to exclude the possibility of the alliance’s troops confrontation with Russian peacekeepers on Dniester River, MP from the Pobeda bloc Vasile Bolea said at a briefing, expressing concern over NATO instructors present at the Moldovan Bulboaca military base located near the de-militarized zone.
"A logical question arises - are there any guarantees that NATO military will not come to Dniester? That a confrontation between those who guarantees peace according to the 1992 military agreement and NATO troops, who engage in drills near the safe zone on a regular basis, will nor emerge?" Bolea asked.
He expressed concern over the calls by the country’s top politicians to join NATO, as well as over boosting cooperation with the military bloc, which envisages that the Moldovan army should comply with the NATO standards, participation in the alliance’s operation, and joint military drills, the amount of which has already significantly increased. "We have many questions to the government about boosting cooperation with NATO and the security of our citizens. <…> Moldova, which is, according to the constitution, a neutral country, should discuss such topics publicly," the politician noted.
Moldova has a neutral status, but it has been cooperating with NATO since 1994 under an individual partnership plan. According to opinion polls, the majority of the Moldovan population are against joining the alliance as they favor preserving the status of permanent neutrality enshrined in the Constitution. However, Moldovan President Maia Sandu calls for rapprochement with NATO and breaking stereotypes about the alliance.
The opposition, as well as the authorities of Gagauzia and unrecognized Transnistria harshly criticize the militarization amid the economic crisis and rise of poverty in the country.
Russian peacekeepers were deployed in the conflict zone after the agreement "On the Principles for a Peaceful Settlement of the Armed Conflict in the Dniester Region of the Republic of Moldova" signed by the Russian and Moldovan presidents on July 21, 1992. Since then, alongside the Transnistrian and Moldovan "blue helmets," they have maintained peace by enabling Chisinau and Tiraspol to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the conflict.