CHISINAU -- Moldova's pro-Russian President Igor Dodon has told RFE\/RL he thinks the planned opening of a permanent NATO liaison office in Moldova would amount to a provocation. <\/p>\n
Moldova's pro-Western government signed an agreement with NATO on the opening of the civilian-staffed liaison bureau in November, before Dodon assumed office. <\/p>\n
Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip has urged his Foreign Ministry to accelerate the opening of a NATO liaison office in Chisinau, and the ministry has said it hopes to do so in April. <\/p>\n
But in an interview in Chisinau on February 14, Dodon told RFE\/RL that he wanted Moldova to remain neutral rather than joining any military alliance. <\/p>\n
He said Moldova and NATO had been collaborating well so far. <\/p>\n
But when asked about plans for the liaison office, he said: \"What do we need a NATO office for? A NATO office in Chisinau, in a neutral country, is a provocation.\" <\/p>\n
\"I do not want this. I want neither NATO nor this Russia-led [military] alliance as far as armed forces are concerned,\" Dodon said in an apparent reference to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military organization grouping Russia and five other former Soviet republics -- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. <\/p>\n
The Moldovan presidency is a largely symbolic position, but Dodon's position has been strengthened by the fact that he was elected in a direct popular vote -- the first president of the country to win office through such an election since 1997. <\/p>\n
On February 7, Dodon said after talks in Brussels with NATO Deputy Secretary-General Rose Gottemoeller that the Moldovan people did not \"welcome\" the opening of a NATO liaison office -- despite the request for the office made by the center-right-controlled parliament and government. <\/p>\n
The Moldovan government is made up of officials from pro-Western parties while Dodon previously headed the pro-Russian Socialist Party, which wants closer ties with Moscow rather than closer integration with European institutions. <\/p>\n
Dodon said he had recommended to Moldova's current parliament and government that they \"not rush it.\" <\/p>\n
\"If they do rush it, the next parliament and government will cancel this agreement, NATO will close down the office and will run away from Moldova. Why do we need such a thing,\" he told RFE\/RL. <\/p>\n
Dodon also had argued in Brussels that the NATO liaison bureau would \"create impediments in regard to negotiations in the Transdniester issue.\" <\/p>\n
Transdniester, a Russian-speaking region in Moldova's east, declared independence from Chisinau in 1990 amid concerns among separatists there of a possible unification of Romania and majority Romanian-speaking Moldova. <\/p>\n
A war broke out between Moldova and Transdniester in 1992, which resulted in hundreds of deaths. <\/p>\n
Russian troops quelled the fighting, but the conflict remains unresolved, and some 1,200 Russian soldiers are still deployed in Transdniester. <\/p>\n
Russia says those troops act as peacekeepers, despite repeated calls for their withdrawal by both Chisinau and the international community. <\/p>\n
Asked by RFE\/RL to explain his stance on Transdniester, Dodon said he wanted \"very much\" to see Russian troops leave Transdniester. <\/p>\n
\"I am quite optimistic about resolving this problem, maybe by the end of my term, maybe even earlier,\" he said without elaborating. <\/p>\n
Dodon's first visit abroad as president was to Moscow, followed by a trip to Brussels. <\/p>\n
He told RFE\/RL that he planned to continue visiting former Soviet republics as well as some European Union member countries. <\/p>\n
\"I believe I will visit CIS members Azerbaijan and Belarus, and probably Armenia, EU member Hungary, and [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan will probably come to Moldova in May.\" <\/p>\n
An official visit to Moldova by Erdogan has so far not been confirmed by Turkey. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Link: CHISINAU -- Moldova's pro-Russian President Igor Dodon has told RFE\/RL he thinks the planned opening of a permanent NATO liaison office in Moldova would amount to a provocation. Moldova's pro-Western government signed an agreement with NATO on the opening of the civilian-staffed liaison bureau in November, before Dodon assumed office. Continue reading
\nMoldovan President: Planned NATO Office In Chisinau 'Provocation' - RadioFreeEurope\/RadioLiberty<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"