Moldovan PM Dorin Recean stated that the country needed an improved anti-aircraft defense system to fend off Russian threats that had intensified due to Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine.
Three days after Moldova’s parliament approved a new security strategy designating Moscow as the country’s biggest security threat and its pro-European government, Recean was speaking to a television interviewer.
President Maia Sandu of Moldova has charged that the Kremlin is attempting to remove her from office and has denounced invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, the European Union decided to begin discussions about adding Moldova and Ukraine to its membership. However, Moldova does not aspire to join the Atlantic Alliance, in contrast to Ukraine, and its neutral status is firmly established in its constitution.
Facing Russian Threat, Moldovan PM Plans Air Defense Upgrade
Recean stated that Moldova planned to purchase a cutting-edge air defense system to protect its airports and important infrastructure locations, with assistance from its allies in the EU and NATO.
“If the Kremlin decides to attack us, just what are we going to do?” Recean said in an interview with TV8. “Neutrality will not protect Moldova.”
Rich nations “invest in their security to ensure that their citizens and businesses feel safe,” according to Recean. People leave and take their capital with them if they don’t have that. And Moldova is currently experiencing that.”
One of the poorest nations in Europe, Moldova presently only possesses a crude air defense system from its days as a Soviet republic.
As was the case several times last winter, Ukraine has determined that strengthening its air defenses is essential to fending off what is anticipated to be a fresh round of airstrikes on its energy and other infrastructure targets.
Recean emphasized that Russia posed the greatest threat to his nation, restating the central tenet of the new security approach.
“The threat to our security is the Kremlin, the Russian Federation and how it relates to our neighbours and to us,” he stated to TV8.
He cited a decree signed on Monday by Vladimir Putin, the head of the Kremlin, that streamlined the process for Moldovans to become Russian citizens, and mentioned that Russia had stopped importing important farm goods from Moldova this month. He claimed that this was “an attempt to gather cannon fodder for its war in Ukraine.”
