U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has announced the U.S. administration’s plans to work harder to develop military cooperation with Moldova and Ukraine.
The U.S. and Moldova now have good military cooperation, but the U.S. also intends to do more to develop its military ties with Moldova and Ukraine, Bolton told reporters in Chisinau on Thursday.
The U.S. believes that the position Moldova is in today allows it to make decisions of its own, which can help the country further bolster its independence, he said. It is up to Moldovan authorities to develop cooperation with other countries, he said. The U.S. has no special ambitions in the region, and it wants to see Moldova independent, Bolton said.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to Chisinau is a matter for Moldovan authorities, Bolton said. Every state is entitled to make its own sovereign decisions regarding military cooperation with other countries, he said.
When asked about efforts to settle the Transdniestrian conflict, Bolton said that this problem had been discussed even during a visit by then U.S. Secretary of State James Baker (Baker served as U.S. Secretary of State from 1989-1992), but still remains unresolved.
Bolton was Baker’s assistant at the time.
The U.S. firmly supports the Moldovan government’s efforts to settle this problem in a way that would allow Moldova to be a truly united country free from foreign influence, Bolton said, adding that it is up to the country’s people to resolve this issue. At the same time, he stressed that maintaining Moldova’s territorial integrity and sovereignty is critically important in this process.
