CHISINAU, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - Moldova's accession to NATO is unnecessary and could dramatically worsen its relations with Russia, a Moldovan political analyst said on Wednesday.
Moldovan Prime Minister Vladimir Filat said on Tuesday that his country needed a transition period "to convince the people about the need of joining NATO, and to change the perception of NATO as a hostile bloc, which has been created under the influence of Russian media."
Commenting on Filat's remarks, Sergei Nazaria, director of the Moldovan Center for Strategic Analysis, said that Moldova's accession to NATO "is unnecessary."
"From my perspective, we do not face any threats today and nobody is planning to attack us. In the present geopolitical situation, it makes sense to maintain Moldova's neutrality," he said.
He said that if Moldova joined NATO in the foreseeable future, it could end up in confrontation with Russia.
"The North Atlantic alliance is not quite a friendly organization for Russia. If we join NATO, we will be perceived as 'not very good people'... This will lead to a dramatic worsening of relations with Russia," he said.
