 | |
 NATO |  Moldova |
|---|---|
NATO member countries Accession protocol signed Countries in the process of accession Countries promised invitations | Membership is not the goal Countries have not announced their membership intentions |
 |
|---|
Judiciary |
| Administrative divisions |
 Moldova portal |
Official relations betweenMoldova andNATO began in 1992 when Moldova joined theNorth Atlantic Cooperation Council. However, asMoldova's neutrality is enshrined in itsconstitution, there are no official plans for Moldova tojoin the organization.
Moldova is aneutral country. Article 11 of the Constitution of Moldova states: "The Republic of Moldova proclaims its permanent neutrality. The Republic of Moldova does not allow the deployment of armed forces of other states on its territory."
In 1992, Moldova joined theNorth Atlantic Cooperation Council, renamed theEuro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in 1997. Relations expanded when Moldova joined thePartnership for Peace programme (PfP) in 1994. The Partnership for Peace was signed byMircea Snegur andManfred Wörner, on 16 March 1994, with Moldova becoming the 12th signatory country and the second of theCommonwealth of Independent States afterUkraine.
On July 8, 1997,Petru Lucinschi andMihai Popov, theforeign minister of Moldova attended theNATO summit inMadrid.[1]
The Mission of Moldova to NATO was established in 1997 with the appointment of the first Moldovan representative to the EAPC. The mission is located in theEmbassy of Moldova in Brussels and has a liaison office in the premises ofNATO headquarters inBrussels.
Vladimir Voronin visited NATO headquarters in Brussels on 23 June 2003, 7 June 2005, 22 June 2006, 18 June 2007, and 5 December 2007.
At the2004 Istanbul summit, NATO acceptedRussia's military presence in Moldova andGeorgia (the withdrawal of these troops was an obligation Russia had assumed at theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's1999 Istanbul summit).[2][3] US Defense SecretaryDonald Rumsfeld stopped, en route to Istanbul, in Moldova, where he called for the withdrawal of Russian forces from the country.[4]
On 23 September 2004, theNATO Secretary General,Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, traveled toChişinău where he met withPresident of MoldovaVladimir Voronin, withForeign Minister of MoldovaAndrei Stratan and Minister of DefenceVictor Gaiciuc.
TheIndividual Partnership Action Plan between NATO and Moldova was signed on 19 May 2006.
With the support of NATO's Public Diplomacy Division, an Information and Documentation Centre on NATO was inaugurated at theMoldova State University in October 2007.
On 3 April, at the2008 Bucharest summit, NATO announced its support for the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Moldova.[5][6] Voronin participated to the Working Lunch of the Heads of State and Government of countriesEuro-Atlantic Partnership Council inBucharest.
On 18 November 2008,NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted Resolution 371 on the future ofNATO–Russia relations, with among other things, "urges the government and the parliament of Russia to respect its commitments which were taken at the Istanbul OSCE Summit in 1999 and has to withdraw its illegal military presence from theTransdnestrian region of Moldova in the nearest future."[7]
In 2009, Moldova cancelled its attendance of theCooperative 09 in response toa troop mutiny in Georgia.[8]
The former communist government, which lost its majority in parliament in2009 elections, was seen as more allied with Russia and was already a member of theCommonwealth of Independent States. In April 2009, Moldova announced it would not participate in the June NATO military exercises. The new ruling party, theAlliance for European Integration, declined to take any action to either move towards membership, or withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States, and denied plans to do either.[9]
Some Moldovan politicians, such as former Minister of DefenceVitalie Marinuța, have suggested joining NATO as part of a larger European integration. The current Prime Minister of Moldova,Dorin Recean, supportsEuropean Union membership, but not NATO membership,[10] as did his predecessorNatalia Gavrilița, and herParty of Action and Solidarity.[11] The second largest alliance in theparliament of Moldova, theElectoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists, strongly opposes NATO membership.[12]
Following the 2014annexation of Crimea by Russia, NATO officials warned thatRussiamight seek to annexTransnistria, a breakaway Moldovan region.[13] This separatist issue could preclude Moldova from joining NATO,[14] due to an unwillingness of alliance members to commit to defending a state which does not control its whole territory.
Moldovan PresidentMaia Sandu stated in January 2023 that there was "serious discussion" about joining "a larger alliance" following theRussian invasion of Ukraine, though she did not specifically name NATO.[15]
Some Moldovan politicians, including formerPrime MinisterIurie Leancă, have also supported the idea ofunifying with neighboring NATO member Romania, which Moldova shares a language and much of its history with. A poll in April 2021 found that 43.9% of those surveyed supported that idea.[16]
On 2 February 2023, Russian foreign ministerSergey Lavrov declared that Moldova might have Ukraine's fate (meaning to be attacked by Russia) if the Moldovan president Maia Sandu wants Moldova to unite with Romania and join NATO.[17][18][19]
A poll in June 2018 found that 22% of Moldovans would vote in favour of joining NATO, while 43% would oppose.[20]
Another poll in December 2018 found that, if given the choice in a referendum, 22% of Moldovans would vote in favor of joining NATO, while 32% would vote against it and 21% would be unsure.[21]
In May 2022, shortly afterRussia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine had begun, a poll in Moldova found that 24.5% supported NATO membership.[22]
In February 2023, 24% would vote in favor of NATO membership while 62% would vote against, according to an IMAS poll.[23]
In August 2024, 29.5% favored NATO membership, a decrease from 34% in April of that year.[24]
| Dates conducted | Pollster | Sample size | Support | Oppose | Neutral orDK | Lead | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 March 2024 | Sweden accedes to NATO | |||||||
| 4 April 2023 | Finland accedes to NATO | |||||||
| 24 February 2022 | Russia invades Ukraine | |||||||
| 16 March 2014 | Russia annexes Crimea | |||||||
| 7 August 2008 | Russia invades Georgia | |||||||
| Americas | |
|---|---|
| Asia | |
| Europe | |
| Multilateral | |
| Disputes | |
| Diplomatic missions | |
| Internal relations |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Multilateral relations | ||
| Bilateral relations | ||
| Related | ||
