KISINEV, 25 January – RIA Novosti. At this stage, Moldova is not ready to become a member of NATO due to the insufficient equipment of the national army, declaration Anatoly Nosaty, head of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic.

Earlier, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in an interview with Politico that the country had to renounce neutrality to join a major military alliance. The newspaper noted that Sandu did not specifically mention NATO, but had repeatedly stated that the neutrality clause of the constitution could be revised if the people favored rapprochement with the North Atlantic alliance.

“First, President Sandu did not mention NATO in this interview. There are other alliances, structures, including at the regional level. Second, there is little willingness to join NATO. This is a “very strong military-political organization to enter”, a number of you need to reform, modernize the army, introduce certain standards, contribute to the budget of the alliance. Let’s be honest: at this stage we are not ready to become a member of NATO, the national equipment Nosatiy, commenting on the statements of the president on the Internet channel Rlive, “The army leaves much to be desired” said.

The head of the Ministry of Defense of Moldova noted that the country needs new weapons. According to him, the changing situation in neighboring Ukraine requires a review of the needs of Moldova’s defense sector.

“Changes related to military events in Ukraine are forcing us to rethink the current state of the defense sector. Unfortunately, we are currently unable to cope with all the challenges that exist and our neutrality situation has left us facing problems.” Nosati said…

The minister stressed that he could not personally advocate a change in neutral status, but urged politicians to find an appropriate solution.

“I do not decide to change the neutrality, I represent the executive. The decision on this should be taken by the politicians and the opinion of the citizens of the country should be taken into account. But when it comes to increasing the defense budget, it should be done without considering the desire to join any alliance. Moldova should have a strong army for defense.” , believes Nosatii.

The Moldovan government has planned about 1.7 billion lei (more than $87 million) for defense needs in 2023; this is 0.55% of gross domestic product. For comparison, neighboring NATO member Romania will spend 2.5% of its GDP on defense starting this year, with a defense budget of more than 7.5 billion euros.

According to the constitution, Moldova has a neutral status, but since 1994 it cooperates with NATO in the framework of an individual partnership plan. According to opinion polls, the majority of Moldovan citizens oppose the republic’s accession to NATO.