Joint press statements by the NATO Secretary General Mr. Jens Stoltenberg and the President of the Republic of Moldova Mr. Igor Dodon.

Transcript

Good morning, we will have statements by the Secretary General and the president. Secretary General.

So President Dodon, welcome to the NATO headquarters. It’s a great pleasure and honor to meet with you here and this is not your first visit to NATO but it is your first visit to this new building. And thank you so much for very positive and constructive discretion today. The Republic of Moldova is a close partner to NATO. Our partnership has grown over more than 25 years. We’re working together for the mutual benefit of Moldova and NATO. I was encouraged to hear from Prime Minister Maia Sandu during a recent meeting that Moldova is committed to continuing our cooperation. And let me thank you for Moldova’s reliable contribution to our KFOR mission in Kosovo. This supports peace and stability in the Western Balkans. It gives Moldovan troops valuable, practical experience to defend their own country and it shows that Moldova is a responsible contributor to international security and you can be proud of your soldiers. I also commend you on the peaceful transition of power in your country based on dialogue and compromise and on firm commitment to democratic values. We encourage you to continue to implement reforms that benefit your people. So Mr. President, NATO fully supports and respects Moldova’s constitutional neutrality and fully supports its independence and its sovereignty. It is clearly spelt out on the first page of our jointly agreed and publicly available framework document, The Individual Partnership Action Plan. We know that Moldova has no desire to join NATO and we respect that decision entirely. We firmly believe that every nation has a right to set its own course. This includes choosing their own allies or choosing not to align with any other countries but neutrality does not mean isolation or that we cannot work together. NATO works closely with other neutral countries such as Switzerland and Austria. NATO’s helping Moldova build strong institutions and good governance. NATO’s also helping improve good governance in your armed forces, including through a defense capability building package and with NATO’s help, Moldova has now a strong professional military education system. Hundreds of Moldovan citizens obtained bachelor’s and master degrees or followed other professional courses. NATO is also helping Moldova improve its expertise and defense against cyber attacks, destroy dangerous chemicals including banned pesticides and develop advanced telemedicine so that first responders can get the best advice in an emergency. This contributes to improving the lives of Moldovan citizens, enhances Moldova’s capacity to defend itself against any attack and helps your country be safer and more secure. Our NATO Liaison Office in Chisinau has been actively helping us to implement our support to Moldova and increase transparency about what NATO is and how we are cooperating with Moldova. NATO fully supports a stable and secure Moldova and we want to see stability and prosperity in your country. It is important that Moldova continues its democratic reforms, notably on fighting corruption and strengthening the judiciary and it is important that Moldova remains committed to the values shared by all European democracies. You can count on NATO’s ongoing commitment to support your country. So once again, it was a great pleasure to meet your today to discuss how we can further strengthen the partnership and cooperation between NATO and Moldova and once again, welcome to NATO. (speaking in foreign language)

[Interpreter] Mr. Secretary General, I would first of all like to thank you for the very clear position that you expressed by yourself and NATO in general with regard to our neutrality and general integrity. Moldova is a neutral state that does not wish to align with any military bloc, NATO included. It is very important to us as a principle to consolidate our neutrality for this status to be recognized. We are open to cooperation with all our partners, both to the east and to the west. Recently we have had exchanges in Chisinau. We have made some important changes in additional when it comes to the intervening coalition. I would like to repeat that the parliamentary majority and the new government in Chisinau will meet all the activities based on our agreements and with our partners at the east end and the west as we have discussed today. We would like to promote a balanced foreign affairs policy. We are for promoting the national interest of Moldova in our relationship with you and our partners. At the same time, as you said, neutrality doesn’t mean isolation. That is why we intend to maintain our relationship to some of our countries to the east and to the west and I would like to thank you for your support offered to us in recent years in many fields. We have spoken today about the disposal of dangerous pesticides on the territory of Republic of Moldova and our objectives for the period to come. I hope that our cooperation started at the beginning of the years 2000 will continue to exist and there to support parties. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I’ll follow you.