Moldovan Foreign Minister calls NATO accession unlikely due to public opposition
Kyiv • UNN
Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi stated that there is a lack of support for NATO membership among citizens. According to a poll, 54.5% of Moldovan residents are against the country's integration into the alliance.
Moldova's accession to NATO is currently unlikely, as the majority of citizens do not support the idea despite the security situation in the region. This was stated by the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihai Popșoi, reports UNN with reference to NewsMaker.
Details
He expressed regret that Moldovan politicians avoid discussing this topic due to its unpopularity. When asked about the possibilities of Chișinău's rapprochement with NATO in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine and the unstable situation in the region, the diplomat noted that everything depends on the will of the citizens.
"Accession to NATO, as to any other international structure, depends on the will of our citizens. If there is broad support, it can be considered a serious prospect and included on the agenda. In our case, as you know, for various reasons, such support has not existed,"
He admitted that he himself is a supporter of NATO and added that civil society and the media should raise this topic more often to "remove the taboo from it."
"We admit that our politicians avoid this topic. I have always been open. For me, the North Atlantic Alliance means security. After university, my first job was at the NATO center in Chișinău. I am a sincere supporter of everything related to Euro-Atlantic security. You don't need a PhD to understand: only NATO can give us real security guarantees,"
The publication adds that, according to the results of the latest poll by the sociological company iData, released in May, 54.5% of Moldovan citizens do not support the idea of the country joining NATO. 33.6% of citizens favor integration into the North Atlantic Alliance.
As a reminder
According to data from the sociological company iData, 44.2% of Moldovan residents believe that the Transnistrian conflict should be resolved through the full reintegration of the region. 17.9% of respondents favor maintaining the current status quo, 12.4% favor granting Transnistria special autonomy within Moldova, and 8.4% support the "independence of Transnistria." At the same time, 15.5% of respondents were unable to decide on an answer.