Expert: The Republic of Moldova has the right to modernize its Army, a fact that does not contravene the Constitution
The status of neutrality does not imply that the Republic of Moldova does not have the right to have a national security and defense system, claims the representative of the Ministry of Defense, Marin Butuc. According to him, the Republic of Moldova has the right to modernize its Army, a fact that does not contradict the Constitution.
The concept of modernizing the National Army does not involve arming the country, but replacing the old equipment, which is expensive to maintain and dangerous, the Director of the Doctoral School within the Military Academy of the Armed Forces, Marin Butuc, told Radio Moldova. According to him, about 90% of the armament and equipment of the National Army, including anti-aircraft systems, are of Soviet production, do not meet the requirements of a contemporary operation and must be replaced with newer equipment. "The modernization of the military segment in the Republic of Moldova does not mean arming or supplementing the number of soldiers, but equipping them with modern equipment, as we have military equipment from the 70s, which represents a danger to the lives of soldiers who use these vehicles. Neutrality does not imply isolation, neutrality implies collaboration, the quality standards of the defense institution can only be obtained through collaboration", said Marin Butuc. Marin Butuc also stated that the Republic of Moldova is part of the Convention on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, also signed by the Russian Federation. According to the document, the Republic of Moldova has the right to own 50 attack helicopters, 210 tanks, 210 armored fighting vehicles, 250 artillery units and 50 fighter planes. The Republic of Moldova has not even remotely reached these quotas, respectively, it does not represent a danger for the security of the Russian Federation or other states, said the expert.
