CHISINAU (Sputnik) — On Monday, the RT broadcaster reported, citing a pre-solicitation notice issued on June 25, that the US Navy was planning to construct eight military training facilities at the Bulboaca base. In response, the Moldovan Defense Ministry said that the construction is financed by a US-sponsored grant program and will not influence the country's neutrality and is not connected to NATO.
"A lot has been said recently about the military base in Bulboaca, the United States' participation in it and about US funding. As the supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Moldova, I will pay a working visit to the training ground in order to familiarize myself with the situation," Dodon wrote on his Facebook.
The president drew attention to the fact that Moldova was a neutral country and thus could not host military presence.
"I will not let the Moldovan armed forces become a part or cogs in any military alliance, whether it would be the Western or Eastern one," Dodon underlined.
The Bulboaca training base is located only 26 miles away from Chisinau. On July 24-August 5, the base hosted the Dragoon Pioneer 2017, joint drills of US and Moldovan troops. Dodon has repeatedly stressed that NATO membership was unacceptable for Chisinau and opposed the participation of the country's military in NATO drills.
Moldova is constitutionally neutral, which means it does not participate or support any belligerents in wars. At the same time, the country has been cooperating with NATO since joining the Partnership for Peace in 1994. The cooperation also extends to the Individual Partnership Action Plan, which Chisinau became a part of in 2006.
