Romania's President: "We support NATO's cooperation with Moldova"

Romania President Traian Basescu supports even closer ties between Moldova and U.S.-led NATO. (Courtesy: NATO photos)

BUCHAREST (Tiraspol Times) - Romania's President has repeated his call for NATO to expand eastwards and highlighted the countries he wants to welcome into the alliance. Word for word, Traian Basescu echoed the exact words of Washington, underlining that his country, too, wants Ukraine and Georgia’s to join NATO.

" - We also support NATO’s cooperation with Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said.

The statement followed an announced by U.S. President George W. Bush that NATO will keep expanding east-ward. On Wednesday, Bush was adamant in saying that "we will enlarge the North Atlantic alliance." Bush urged the inclusion of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) and said that the door was open for the other countries too.

" - My country’s position is clear - NATO should welcome Georgia and Ukraine into the Membership Action Plan," said Bush in reference to the plan which leads to membership and participation in carrying out American military goals worldwide.

Whereas Georgia is favorably disposed towards NATO membership, opinions polls consistently show that a solid majority of Ukraine's population is against letting their country become part of this military grouping.

Doubts about neutrality

Former East Bloc allies Romania and Bulgaria are both EU- and NATO members, and Romania says it is proud to host the NATO summit in its capital. On Wednesday, Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, addressing the Summit, welcomed all attendees. He conducted discussions on “NATO’s door: is it open or close?” in the presence of, among others, former Lockheed president Bruce Jackson, head and author of the U.S.-based “Project on Transitional Democracies” and specialist in regime changes in the newly independent countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

From 1995 until 2003, Bruce Jackson was the President of the "US Committee on NATO", a private group formed to promote the expansion of NATO. During the 2002-2003 planning stage of the current Iraq war, he served as the Chairman of the "Committee for the Liberation of Iraq."

Moldova, which declared independence in 1991, professes to be a neutral country but has troops in Iraq and allows Western military exercises inside its country several times a year. A permanent NATO center was opened in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau in 2007.

The 'de facto' republic of Transdniestria, which declared independence in 1990, has openly voiced doubts about Moldova's true commitment to peace and neutrality. Moldova's recent increase in arms spending has raised fears of a possible new outbreak of the war between the two which led to more than 1,000 dead in 1992.

See also:
» Andrei Stratan: "Moldova relies on USA's support"
» Moldova "bogus neutrality" draws fire from Transnistria