NATO Allies Romania and the United States strengthened their relations with the Republic of Moldova – a NATO partner – through exercise Rapid Trident 2023, which was held in Moldova from 10 to 22 September.
Troops from the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division, currently deployed to Romania, and the Romanian Army trained in land navigation, small unit tactics and combat casualty care, alongside more than 200 personnel from the Moldovan Army. Soldiers became acquainted with each other’s standard operating procedures, improving their ability to work effectively together in a crisis situation.
Bordering Romania and Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Relations with NATO started in 1992, when Moldova joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, a forum for dialogue bringing together all Allies and partner countries in the Euro-Atlantic area and which was succeeded by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.
In 1994, the country joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. The program fosters practical bilateral cooperation and allows partners to build an individual relationship with NATO, choosing their own priorities for cooperation.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO Allies pledged to help strengthen Moldovan security institutions and increase their resilience. Moldova has repeatedly accused Russia of trying to destabilize the country, something it denies.
Russia stationed 1,500 troops in Transnistria, an unrecognized breakaway state in eastern Moldova in 1992, when the 14th Guards Army intervened in a war between the pro-Russian separatists and Moldova.
Moldova has not applied to join the military alliance and prior to Russia’s invasion of Moldova, there was no tangible support for this.
NATO chief meets Moldovan PM, reaffirms longstanding partnership
