Zelenskyy says security guarantees 'very important' for Ukraine, Moldova

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said security guarantees are not only important for his country but also for its neighbors, including Moldova.

“Ukraine is ready to be a part of NATO ... security guarantees are very important not only for Ukraine but for our neighbors, for Moldova, because of Russian aggression in Ukraine and potential aggression in other parts of Europe,” Zelenskyy told reporters after a meeting with Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu. He arrived in the Moldovan commune of Bulboaca to attend the second meeting of the European Political Community.

Kyiv applied to the EU shortly after Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine last year in February, and submitted an application to be a part of the NATO military alliance last September, when Moscow announced its annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

Zelenskyy said they are happy to go “shoulder to shoulder” with Moldova, and thanked the Eastern European country for hosting Ukrainian refugees.

He said he will be discussing the provision of fighter jets and Patriot missile systems at the summit, as well as support on the battlefield and his 10-step Ukraine peace plan, which he unveiled last year.

The Moldovan leader, for her part, said they spoke on bilateral agenda, joint infrastructure projects and "about our European future."

Moldova, a former Soviet state and now an EU candidate, has been strengthening its ties with the West in recent years. It has faced security threats, an unprecedented influx of refugees, trade disruptions and economic slowdown since the Ukraine war.

Sandu said Ukraine is keeping Moldova safe, and that it respects “the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine in its internationally recognized borders.”

“Moldova supports the special international tribunal to deal with those who are committing crimes of aggression in Ukraine,” she added, and called on European countries to invest in Moldova and Ukraine, and to “believe in their democracies” and “EU future.”