---
title: "Maia Sandu: We are discussing whether we should be part of a larger military alliance"
url: https://moldova1.md/p/2869/maia-sandu-we-are-discussing-whether-we-should-be-part-of-a-larger-military-alliance
published: 2023-01-21T11:22:13Z
language: en
author: "Viorica Rusica"
section: "Political"
source: moldova1.md
---

# Maia Sandu: We are discussing whether we should be part of a larger military alliance

> Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is prompting soul-searching in neighboring Moldova about whether the country needs to shift away from its constitutionally-enshrined neutrality and lock itself into a “larger alliance.” This was announced by the President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu in an interview for POLITICO.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is prompting soul-searching in neighboring Moldova about whether the country needs to shift away from its constitutionally-enshrined neutrality and lock itself into a “larger alliance.” This was announced by the President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu in an interview for POLITICO.

![](https://storage.moldova1.md/images/8747347e-820c-48f0-b1e9-237ededbe5b4.jpg)

When asked about potential NATO accession, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said in an interview with POLITICO the country was still weighing its next step, and whether it would require a constitutional change to do so.

“Now, there is a serious discussion … about our capacity to defend ourselves, whether we can do it ourselves, or whether we should be part of a larger alliance,” she said. “And if we come, at some point, to the conclusion as a nation that we need to change neutrality, this should happen through a democratic process.”
Although Moldova is not a member of NATO, it does cooperate with the organisation and contributes to the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Sandu, along with other leaders, met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in New York during the United Nations General Assembly in September last year. Moldova’s foreign minister, Nicu Popescu, attended December’s NATO meeting in Bucharest — the first time a Moldovan foreign minister has participated in a NATO ministerial. At that gathering, allies reconfirmed support for Moldova, including through the provision of training for Moldovan defense forces.