Nantoi: Radars Make Sense if They Are Part of Defense with Ukraine and NATO

Oazu Nantoi, a member of the National Security Commission, believes that the deployment of air defense radars in Moldova will only make sense if they are used together with the defense system of Ukraine and possibly NATO. “In my humble opinion, the deployment of modern radars on Moldovan territory only makes sense if Moldova participates with them, as a first step, in the creation of a regional/collective air defense system - with Ukraine primarily, if not with NATO. Today everything that can shoot down air targets is intended for Ukraine. But maybe the time will come when, in addition to domestic slingshots, we will receive at least the IRIS-T system to lessen the insolence and contempt of Russian war criminals towards us. And then Moldova’s participation in the regional/collective air defense system could become more consistent - going beyond declarations of solidarity,” Oazu Nantoi writes on his Facebook page. The MP refers to the case of 10 October 2022, when three Russian cruise missiles launched from the Black Sea at Ukraine flew through Moldovan airspace. A year later, on 20 December 2023, the government announced that it had received a radar purchased from France as part of a major effort to modernize the armed forces amidst the war in Ukraine. In addition, referring to the fact that the Constitution states that Moldova has the status of a neutral country, the MP recalls that it has been repeatedly violated by the Russian Federation. “In case of a threat to such fundamental constitutional values as national independence, territorial integrity or state security, the Moldovan authorities are obliged to take all necessary measures, including military ones, which would allow them to defend our country effectively,” Oazu Nantoi writes. We shall remind you that late last year, Moldova received from France the GM 200 radar manufactured by THALES.