Politician Irina Vlah, leader of the Republican Party “Heart of Moldova”, issued a message on the occasion of the International Day of Neutrality, established by the UN General Assembly in 2017 and marked annually on December 13, TRIBUNA reports.

She stated that in the context of new challenges facing humanity, including the region to which the Republic of Moldova belongs, the importance of neutrality is growing, since neutrality can provide the best security guarantees.

“Neutrality can become a true security shield for small states like the Republic of Moldova, but only under the mandatory condition that it is recognized internationally. This has already been proven by states whose neutrality has been internationally acknowledged. In Moldova’s case, the principle of neutrality is non-functional, and one possible explanation is that it was declared unilaterally by being introduced into the Constitution in 1994. However, to initiate international steps toward recognition of Moldova’s permanent neutrality, national consensus and a popular mandate are required,” said the politician.

Irina Vlah emphasized that not everyone shares this view, and there are even opinions that neutrality is an outdated principle that should be abandoned, with the best solution for small states like Moldova being to join an international collective security shield.

“Every opinion has the right to exist, but decisions of this kind must be adopted only by the people. Personally, I believe the time has come to launch broad discussions and consultations on the security guarantees that Moldova can obtain, including by ensuring the functionality of the neutrality principle. The sooner these discussions begin, the sooner the necessary conclusions will be drawn and the required decisions taken. Until then, everyone remains with their own opinion. My opinion is that, in Moldova’s case, neutrality has no alternative, and once functional, this principle can ensure our peace and security, while serving as a strong foundation for building a modern, prosperous state,” she added.