BUCHAREST (Romania), April 1 (SeeNews) – Moldova remains neutral and has not requested any arms supplies from its partners at this stage in order to protect itself from the war in neighboring Ukraine, the Moldovan minister said on Friday. of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu.

“Under the Constitution in force since 1994, Moldova is a neutral country and our regional diplomatic and military policy respects this status. (…) However, neutrality does not mean self-isolation. Therefore, these In recent years, Moldova has been involved in several military cooperation projects with partner countries, as well as in peacekeeping operations,” Popescu said during a joint live press conference in Chisinau with his counterparts from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria.

“We have not discussed any plans for military cooperation today, and Moldova is not asking its partners for weapons at this stage. In our opinion, the peace and stability of the country’s territory will be preserved,” added Popescu.

Popescu told his counterparts that Moldova faces multiple economic challenges due to the war, noting that many exporters can no longer sell their products to eastern markets and transporters cannot access roads. in the region, which are closed due to military action, according to a press release issued by the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The diplomats discussed the availability of road freight transport through Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the identification of ways to increase the presence of Moldovan products in the markets of these countries.

Moldova’s economy ministry said on Tuesday that the country’s economy would grow just 0.3% in 2022 after growing 13.9% last year, with the slowdown mainly due to the war in Ukraine and to the disruption of global supply chains. Before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Economy Ministry was aiming for economic growth of 4.5% in 2022.