Moldova and Sweden Do Not want NATO Membership

Two European countries, Moldova and Sweden, have refused to join NATO despite the war in Ukraine.

Moldova has no plans to join the alliance, but wants membership in the European Union, Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said. On March 3^rd, Moldovan President Sandu signed the country's application to join the EU.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has flatly rejected calls by the opposition to consider joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to Andersson, applying for membership would now destabilize security in Europe, Reuters reported.

“The principle of neutrality is enshrined in our constitution. We will strive for EU membership, but we will not strive for NATO membership,” Gavrilita told Euronews.

According to Moldova's constitution, it has a neutral status, but since 1994 the country has been cooperating with the alliance as part of an individual partnership plan. The pact's information center operates in the Moldovan capital. In December 2017, a NATO Liaison Office was opened in Chisinau. Opinion polls show that more than 60% of the population opposes NATO accession.

“If Sweden chooses to apply for NATO membership in the current situation, it will further destabilize this region of Europe and increase tensions. All this time, I have always made it clear that’s the best decision for Sweden's security and for the security of this region of Europe, it is my government's long-term, consistent and predictable policy, that has always been my conviction,” Andersson said.

Sweden has not fought a war since 1814 and has built its foreign policy on non-participation in military alliances, but in recent years has established closer ties with NATO amid escalating tensions with Russia in the Baltic region.

Moscow does not want Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, and at the end of last month issued another warning that doing so would have “serious military-political consequences”.

Andersson spoke about possible NATO membership after a meeting with opposition party leaders to discuss deteriorating security.

According to a survey last Friday by the Demoscope agency, commissioned by the Aftonbladet newspaper, 51% of Swedes are in favor of joining NATO, up from 42% in January. The share of people against decreases from 37 to 27 percent. For the first time in a study, those in favor of joining the North Atlantic Alliance are in the majority, Reuters notes.

/OFFNews

Follow Novinite.com on Twitter and Facebook

Write to us at editors@novinite.com

Информирайте се на Български - Novinite.bg

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!