NATO defence ministers will meet in Brussels on 15 February. The day before, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg answered questions about Moldova at a press conference.
The discovery of a Shahed drone on the territory of Moldova only demonstrates Russia’s “reckless behaviour” and the danger to countries in Ukraine’s neighbourhood, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of the alliance’s ministerial meeting in Brussels.
An Iranian-made drone used by the Russian Federation in its war of aggression against Ukraine was found on the night of 10-11 February in a locality in southern Moldova.
The Moldovan Defence Ministry said radars and early warning systems failed to detect the drone because of its low flight altitude and long distance from the target.
Addressing Moldovan journalists accredited in Brussels on Wednesday, Stoltenberg said NATO was monitoring the situation near Moldova and working with the authorities in Chisinau on defence reforms and strengthening defence capabilities.
“Of course, we respect its neutrality. Moldova does not talk about its NATO membership, but we very much welcome the strengthening of the partnership with this country,” said the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg.
FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS, FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
At the 2022 and 2023 NATO Defence and Foreign Ministers meetings in Madrid and Vilnius, Moldova received several commitments of support from the allies.
At the end of last year, Chisinau extended its Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO for another year, and from 2025 it will switch to a new cooperation program, called the Individual Partnership Adapted Programme.
NATO has embarked on a process of reforming its partnerships, introducing the concept of ‘One Partner, One Plan’, whereby several programs and instruments of Alliance cooperation with each partner state are incorporated into a single framework.