CHISINAU (Sputnik) — US armed forces arrived in the Eastern European country on Wednesday for joint military drills, codenamed Dragon Pioneer 2016. They involve 58 US vehicles and 198 US soldiers as well as 165 Moldovan troops.
"We will make every effort to prevent US hardware from entering Chisinau on May 9," Socialist leader Igor Dodon told journalists at a press conference in the Moldovan capital.
"If US military agrees to take part in the march and Victory Day celebrations without their tanks and vehicles and lay flowers at the heroes’ memorial, we will only welcome this decision," Dodon said.
NATO presence in Moldova has further divided the government and opposition, which also staged months of protests last year against local authorities’ corruption. The military exercises are scheduled to run until May 20.
