Valeriu Cuciuc: “The principle of Permanent Neutrality Is Incompatible with the Principle of Militarization”

Moldova has not been persistent in promoting the international recognition of its permanent neutrality status, the president of the Institute of Constitutional Justice, Doctor of Law Valeriu Cuciuc, says. According to the expert, Moldova did not offer either internally to its citizens or externally - to the international community - the position of a neutral state. Cuciuc touched upon this topic at the scientific-practical conference “Moldova’s neutrality - a paradigm of constitutional value”, organized by the Institute of Constitutional Justice. The expert stressed that the state’s principle of permanent neutrality is incompatible with the principle of militarization. “The sources of law that served as the basis for the appearance of neutrality in the Moldova’s Constitution are, first of all, the two fundamental declarations: the Declaration of Sovereignty and the Declaration of Independence. The 1990 Declaration of Sovereignty explicitly states: the Republic of Moldova declares itself a demilitarized state. This existential principle, as well as the principle of independence, was further developed in Article 11 of the Constitution,” Valeriu Cuciuc said. “We have to admit that our country has not tried and failed to formulate a solution to the security problem on the basis of the neutral state’s concept, has not been persistent, has not promoted international recognition of its status of permanent neutrality, has not concluded a single treaty recognizing its neutrality, has not tried to use the demilitarization formula, has not tried to effectively solve the problem of the presence of foreign troops on its territory. The promotion of a neutral state in various military contingents sent to participate in different military missions initiated by diverse international actors has not offered either internally to citizens or externally to the international community a principled position of a neutral state,” Valeriu Cuciuc claimed. The expert recalled that the status of permanent neutrality is incompatible with the assumption of international commitments that may lead to the involvement in military conflicts. Moldova, as a state with permanent neutrality, should not participate in any form in military actions and exercises outside its territory. “The basis of the Moldovan state’s neutrality is the obligation to pursue a pacifist policy, not to allow its participation in military conflicts, not to participate in military alliances or blocs, to refuse any form of cooperation with military alliances or blocs, not to allow the deployment of foreign military bases on its territory, regardless of their declared purpose,” the speaker said. At the same time, Valeriu Cuciuc drew attention to the fact that the principle of permanent neutrality, however, is compatible with the principle of self-defense, with those military actions that are carried out for the purpose of self-defense. In the context of the changes taking place on the world political arena, in the expert’s opinion, neutrality is the best solution to ensure Moldova’s state security. “The realization of Moldova’s permanent neutrality has actually been impossible during 30 years of its constitutional path, in the conditions of a unipolar world order led by one superpower. With the transition of the international system from unipolar to multipolar order, as well as the emergence of increased international risks, all this together makes neutrality the best solution to ensure state security, reconciliation, cohesion and national unity,” President of the Institute of Constitutional Justice, Valeriu Cuciuc, concluded.