Interim President: NATO membership not an issue at the moment because of heterogeneity of Alliance party members

Moldovan interim President and Speaker Mihai Ghimpu said during a joint press conference with Romanian President Traian Basescu yesterday that NATO membership is not a current issue in Chisinau because the programs of the ruling coalition parties "are different."

Mr. Ghimpu is referring to the fact that the Democratic Party, considered to be the more centrist member of the Alliance for European Integration, is more skeptical about NATO membership than the other four parties making up the coalition.

The opposition Party of Communists is adamantly against NATO membership, and polls show that whereas most Moldovans want to join the European Union, a majority does not want to join NATO.