Joint energy security exercises with NATO take place in Moldova

On March 12-14, Coherent Resilience 2024 exercises were held in Chisinau to increase the resilience of Moldova's critical energy infrastructure to cyber and hybrid threats.  This was reported by UNN with reference to the NATO press service.

Details

The exercise was held in partnership with the NATO Energy Security Center of Excellence and the Ministry of Energy of Moldova. 

"In the energy sector, digitalization brings with it new opportunities, but also risks and threats that are of utmost importance. We need to be sure that our civilian energy infrastructure will not be used for malicious purposes," said  Energy Minister Viktor Parlikov. 

The program reportedly aims to deepen cooperation between Moldovan energy operators and cyber defenders to ensure the country's readiness to combat non-traditional security threats. Ministries, government agencies and the private sector took part in the exercise. 

More than 100 people from 10 countries and 32 institutions took part in the exercise. Among them  was the Romanian delegation, which emphasized NATO and Allies' cooperation in the region with partners at risk.

Addendum 

Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popschiu said that Moldova sees certain attempts by Russia to destabilize the country against the backdrop of the presidential elections and the referendum on the country's accession to the European Union. 

Recall

At the end of February, Transnistria asked Russia for help in connection with the economic blockade imposed by Moldova. The relevant declaration was adopted by a congress of local "deputies".

The Moldovan Foreign Ministry reacted to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks that the Moldovan government is "following in Kyiv's footsteps" after Transnistria turned to Moscow to help its economy withstand "pressure" from the Moldovan government, noting that Lavrov and the Kremlin regime have no moral right to lecture about democracy and freedom.