comment: >
  
  Kissinger's position was reasonable while the Budapest Memorandum was still being honored.
  Russia altered the deal and now needs to pray that the west doesn't alter it further.
context: I’m guessing Russia’s response is “don’t join nato to keep us from invading, or we’ll invade” >
  
  Moldova's mulling and Russia's rushing >
  
  Reminds me of that joke.. If you're Russian to the bathroom, what are you inside it?
  European! >
  
  And after you’re done, you’re Finnish. >
  
  Don't forget the zipper Czech. >
  
  Doubly important if rushing because you're Hungary. >
  
  wipe the seat to make sure there's no Moldova it >
  
  
  wipe the seat to make sure there's no German it
  
  I hate participating in pun threads but there's nor way I could let this slide >
  
  Give it a nice Polish >
  
  This war has revived NATO and reminded the world why it exists in the first place.  If one of the goals was to prevent NATO expansion, Putin has not only failed, he’s accelerated it. >
  
  It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me. >
  
  Russia mulls invading Moldova for considering joining NATO. >
  
  They already have.
  It's called Transnistria. >
  
  Funny thing is Russia wants absolutely nothing to do with Transnistria, they just seeded that population in order to prevent Moldova from doing anything like join NATO. >
  
  Then why did plans to invade leak during the beginning of the war? Russia is greedy and wants what ever it can get its claws on. If Ukraine fell Moldova would have been invaded the next day. >
  
  Maskirovka.  Russia is at all times about to invade all of its neighbors while simultaneously not having any plans to invade anybody at all. >
  
  They would have to first deal with their own separatists in Transnistria, and the Russian influcence throughout their society. >
  
  Are they the same separatists that always coincidentally pop up in a place russia wants to invade >
  
  Pretty much. 
  Also, I think weev hangs out in Transnistria.  Or did at some stage. >
  
  Transnistria is more of a USSR hangover than a 21st century 'little green men' style quiet invasion. Its self-declared 'autonomy' predates Moldova's declaration if independence in 1991. However, Russia's continued support for this corrupt little puppet prevents any sort of status negotiations taking place, and Russia has also tried to influence Moldovan elections and its involvement was a leading factor in the 2019 constitutional crisis. 
  Pretty clear that Russia's plan back as far as 2014 was to divide Ukraine into 'Novorossia' (new Russian regions along the entire coastline including Transnistria) and a rump Ukraine west of the Dniper river, which would either be a puppet state or left to the West (since without access to the sea and much of its industrial heartlands, the remainder of Ukraine would be strategically worthless to them). They literally circulated maps of this back in 2014.
  All pretty sus. >
  
  This was the one being circulated by Russian propaganda accounts back in 2014 time. >
  
  That is a tough map to understand >
  
  The main parts to focus on are the part pained with Ukraine's flag (blue and yellow) and the part painted with Russia's flag (white/blue/red tricolour). The smaller flags are all regional flags. The Russia part includes Ukraine's territories in the South and East and both Transnistria and Gagauzia, two pro-Russian areas of Moldova.
  Then for some reason, Russia believed that once Ukraine had properly fallen, countries like Hungary, Slovakia and Romania would get in and take further bits where there are minorities speaking their national languages. Probably because they think all countries want to be like Russia. >
  
  I only know moldova because of funny saxophone man >
  
  Don't forget Numa Numa (actually Dragostea Din Tei) >
  
  Tei- that’s linden tree. >
  
  Fixed it! Autocorrect strikes again! >
  
  Russia is like that guy who is afraid his girlfriend is cheating on him, then he chases her into the arms of the guy he was worried about. >
  
  Except they weren't Russias girlfriend.
  It's more like Russia fancied them, got insecure comparing themselves to their Chad neighbour, and decided to try and force them into a relationship before they got too close to the other guy, but in doing so pushed them into the Chads arms. 
  Russia is a weak insecure loser that doesn't know how to play nice. >
  
  Moldova was part of the USSR. That's what I'm speaking to.
  They had a relationship which was one-sided. Moldova (and many others) left and now Russia feels they get to make decisions about what their exes can or cannot do even though they're no longer in a relationship.
  Russia is the crazy ex we were all warned about. >
  
  Like many "parts of the USSR," Moldova was part of the USSR in a not particularly consenting way.
  To use the previously mentioned girlfriend example, they were one of the girls kept locked in the basement. They might not consider that as being a girlfriend, even if the homeowner does. >
  
  How about brutally abusive boyfriend? >
  
  Even an abusive boyfriend implies some level of consent.  The Ukrainians never asked to join the USSR. Like many others, they were forced.
  The Soviet Block was not a union of like-minded countries but rather a number of nations with Russian puppet governments. The Russians would forcefully put down any unrest. >
  
  Sorry, that isn't the point I was making. I was referring to Moldova in this context. I'm not very well versed in soviet history but I do get the generals of it. Kind of also giving myself some insight into Moldova's role in the ussr. >
  
  Considering they are next after Ukraine… yeah they better be considering joining NATO. >
  
  One sure fire way to encourage NATO expansion is for Russia to attack a non-NATO member in Europe.
  Nice work Putin. >
  
  Meanwhile, Turkey is thinking what ridiculous concessions it can demand from Moldova. >
  
  Moldova is geographically closer to Turkey, they could thing them joining is useful for them >
  
  I’ve got it - Denmark holds out on confirming Moldova’s application, and we use it as a trade to get Turkey to confirm Sweden. >
  
  Bad plan. No bullying Moldova
  Hungary is already a big question mark >
  
  The West should be strongly looking into what can be done about Hungary. Like, can we just bribe them like Russia does and solve the issue, or do we need to consider an ultimatum and move on? Losing an "ally" isn't ideal but whennyounneed fucking quotation marks around the term do they even count? I get that we don't want them becoming a full on puppet state and giving Russia a clear and open access point deeper into Europe but if they keep going against the alliance's interests for clearly suspicious reasons (to say the least) can we keep trusting them? >
  
  Considering that Moldova wasn't protected by NATO before and the only reason that they weren't fully annexed is because Ukraine had the courage to fight back, yeah, they fucking should contemplate joining. >
  
  Romania is in an alliance with Moldova and NATO is in an alliance with Romania. While it doesn’t mean that NATO would defend Moldova, it certainly makes the process much more dangerous. >
  
  Wonder if Moldova reunion with Romania has a higher chance than joining NATO independently >
  
  Maybe, but a few countries wouldn't allow/recognise that. For example the UK - they have their own situation with Ireland and Northern Ireland... >
  
  ….. Mulldova?
  Sorry. >
  
  I mulled over it >
  
  Glass of mulled wine in hand… >
  
  Moldova should definitely join NATO.
  That way if Russia invades Article 5 activates and Russia Definitely doesnt want that.
  Especially since its closest ally China is questioning Putins Sanity. >
  
  The sooner they apply, the sooner their application can be reviewed. Sweden and Finland have an accelerated schedule because they were already very closely linked NATO partners..
  Moldova will need to invest heavily in its own defences if it expects to join a defensive alliance and thanks to Hungary, everyone is going to scrutinize links to Russia and the strength of the political system even more closely. >
  
  They're not eligible. >
  
  The only essential eligibility criteria for NATO is that the country is European and that they are voted in by unanimous consent of members as noted under Article 10. Nothing else matters.
  Beyond this, NATO recommends the following 5 points be met in order to facilitate the voting process and will address this through working with the applicant’s Membership Action Plan to overcome any identifiable barriers, typically over a number of years.
  “—New members must uphold democracy, including tolerating diversity.
  --New members must be making progress toward a market economy.
  --Their military forces must be under firm civilian control.
  --They must be good neighbors and respect sovereignty outside their borders.
  --They must be working toward compatibility with NATO forces. ” >
  
  You bolded the wrong part.
  “Demonstrated a commitment to and respect ”
  Territorial issues like Transnistria are not a barrier for accession, only a commitment or intent to resolve the disputes in a diplomatic or peaceful fashion. >
  
  "States which have ethnic disputes or external territorial disputes, including irredentist claims, or internal jurisdictional disputes must settle those disputes by peaceful means in accordance with OSCE principles."
  Settling the dispute is a requirement. >
  
  Not at all. Multiple NATO members have long standing territorial disputes with each other.
  All that section calls for is a commitment to settle disagreements by way of diplomacy and peaceful action not that the disputes themselves are concluded.
  As noted under Article 10 there are only 2 requirements and NATO itself does not hold itself to any checklist. >
  
  
  All that section calls for is a commitment to settle disagreements by way of diplomacy and peaceful action not that the disputes themselves are concluded.
  
  Short of complete concession to Russia, Russia isn't going to peacefully settle, which is problematic. This isn't like Croatia/Slovenia.
  
  NATO itself does not hold itself to any checklist
  
  It holds itself to whatever checklist it wants. And currently territorial dispute is the biggest sticking point. >
  
  Moldova hasn’t even submitted an application so I don’t see how you can claim “territorial dispute is the biggest sticking point”.
  As outlined by Stoltenberg, Russia does not have a veto on who can join NATO. The existence of fictitious Russian states only recognized by other fictitious Russian states is not a barrier to accession.
  This idea that all Russia has to do is invade a country and occupy a slice to prevent membership is born out of ignorance for the type of organization that NATO is. >
  
  
  As outlined by Stoltenberg, Russia does not have a veto on who can join NATO.
  
  They kinda do. That's why they invaded Georgia. It worked. >
  
  Russia invades ukraine to keep them out of NATO, Moldova, Finland, Sweden, and Ukraine join NATO. 
  Curb your enthusiasm theme plays.
  On a less serious note, Russia is at least helping the start the unification processes necessary for earth to be ready to fight those wars of the future on Klendathu. >
  
  I would like to know what Transnistria thinks of this. >
  
  Transnistrian government just wants to take advantage of their muddy status to run all kinds of mafia deals and make money… >
  
  
  government
  
  That "government" is the mafia >
  
  Doesn't that require ending any border disputes? >
  
  Thanks for the link!
  This is definitely much closer to a hard requirement than anything I had previously read.
  I'm in no way qualified to make this judgement, but I still read it as open-ended enough to allow the member states of NATO to individually vote on whether to admit a state with a territorial dispute. I know this is splitting hairs, but though the word "must" implies a hard requirement, the phrasing "would be a factor" is less objective than something like "is a requirement." That said, that's just my interpretation - and I will add your link to my blurbs on this w/ credit. >
  
  I think there's more room for nuance than this. While I personally believe that Moldova would be unlikely to garner unanimous support for joining NATO, individual states get to make that decision for themselves.
  Of note, NATO members often request concessions from prospective states in exchange for approval. We are seeing this right now with the current disagreement between Sweden and Turkey, whose approval is still up in the air.
  As a hypothetical example, NATO members could grant approval on the condition that Moldova either cedes the disputed territory or finds another means of resolving the conflict. This would be the only way, I think, that Moldova would have a chance at joining the alliance. >
  
  BTW off topic question have u heard anything about Hungary? A lot of attention has been put on Turkey not allowing them but I’ve heard very little on Hungary since I heard they were expected to allow them early this year but dead silence since then >
  
  I haven't heard anything about them recently either. Except I think they recently blocked an EU aid package to Ukraine 😬 >
  
  Ah 😐😐😐 thanks >
  
  well joining NATO will be hard because of Transnistria and the Russian "peacekeeperes" there >
  
  Needs to happen. >
  
  Ukraine and Moldova can destroy the 1500 man Russian garrison in transnistria in a matter of days if they wanted to. >
  
  I didn't think they could becuse of the Transnistria problem. >
  
  Mulldova. >
  
  This was unthinkable 2 years ago. Moldova was basically a Russian orbit state. >
  
  Moldova, Finland, Sweden all wanting to join NATO. Thanks Putty! >
  
  Get back to them once you’ve Moldova it >
  
  ok transnistria first, then should try to reunify with Romania which would give EU and NATO membership in one move. >
  
  Yeah but the the Gagauz People in the south of Moldova threatned to separate if Moldova was to unify with Romania... >
  
  Well that region they call separate region is funded by MD budget and they will get off the funding and having borders and good luck having that >
  
  spoiler alert: Russia doens't give a shit about neutrality
  what they need to do is reunite with Romania, from where that region was ripped off in 1945 >
  
  Won’t someone stop NATO from invading all these countries 😭 >
  
  This is the one with transnistria right? Good luck with that. >
  
  If Romania helps to liberate Transnistria >
  
  Why Romania? >
  
  Who else? >
  
  Ukraine 👀 it would take them an afternoon >
  
  What’s the downside for a country not to join NATO? Outside of pissing off other countries not in NATO. >
  
  There is no downside >
  
  Depends who you ask. The against-argument I heard in Sweden (before Russia went 100% crazy) was that a NATO-membership could mean increased military expenditures; expenditures which seemed unnecessary a few years ago. Especially by countries with a more peaceful attitude. NATO-membership could also mean being dragged into conflicts the state would otherwise choose not to participate in. >
  
  I don’t beleive Joining NATO means more military expenditures >
  
  Mulldova >
  
  NATO : How much have you been thinking about joining NATO?
  Moldova : Mulled over.
  NATO : GTFO. >
  
  I say we get every country worth a damn to join NATO. Even Japan and other pacific nations because why the fuck not. we then add a secrete rider at the bottom in font .05 that states after 10 years all nations in NATO become states. Because why not, and because try and stop us. >
  
  I agree about opening it up to other "Rule by Law" nations joining NATO. But there should be a mechanism where a if a country goes rogue (e g Turkey stalling Norway and Sweden NATO membership) a specified majority can kick them out of the alliance. >
  
  All I know about Moldova is they did the "Epic Sax Guy song" that went viral some years back during Eurovision 2010.
  "Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira - Run Away"
  I still can't believe that performance was only the runner up to "Lena - Satellite" which I didn't even like.   
  Lets invite Moldova into NATO and bring sax guy out of retirement to play a roast song for Putin. >
  
  Fun fact: Epic Sax Guy is still active, he even played his saxophone one more time at Eurovision in 2017. You can check out his performance here >
  
  Now is the time to do it while they are up to their necks in shit in Ukraine.  Even harder for them to make good on threats. >
  
  Do it please. Moldova you're very welcome to join.
  Send wine plz <3 <3 <3 <3 >
  
  Do itttttt >
  
  Special Military Operation: “Who Dis?” >
  
  Moldova Mulls-Over Membership, Makes Moscow Mad
  Maybe? >
  
  They'd probably have to figure out Transnistria first. >
  
  Moldova mulled ova joining NATO >
  
  FTFY: Moldova mulled over joining NATO. >
  
  Sounds like a Zelda enemy >
  
  I have a bad feeling about this. >
  
  That's clickbate article, we have neutrality in constitution so without changes we cannot join + it's costly. A lot of people who like eu are against nato cause american imperialism and well deserved bombings of serbia. >
  
  Still, how can they join Nato with that Transnistria under dispute? same problem Ukraine had when the Dombas was under dispute. Ukraine had to wait until that was resolved but look what happeded... Putin knew if there was a disputed territory Ukraine bid for Nato would be impossible, so he put a plan in motion to not only try to keep his puppet in Kiyv, but to create the 2014 crimea issue (with importing more russians and have the FSB control the narriative), as a guarantee. Russia plans will be to create pockets of disputed lands in non nato countries to prevent them from joining. Im surprised he didnt already try that in Sweden and Finland. 
  just saying.... mulling does nothing but move the russian pieces toward preventing Moldova in a Nato bid. Either with a pro-russian leader or create flase flags operations in Transnistria. >
  
  They can't while Transnistria is still ongoing. But they can rejoin Romania to auto-join NATO. >
  
  They better.. you know if the Russians ever get a land route to Moldova. it’s next. >
  
  Do it >
  
  They very much need to do this. >
  
  Good luck Moldova, whatever the decision >
  
  We need another great wall between Russia and Europe. >
  
  Moldova mullin’ it ova’ >
  
  Not sure Moldova will meet the entrance requirements. >
  
  Good luck lmfao. Transnistria? Yeah, I don't think they are joining NATO any time soon. >
  
  Mulls it? It’s a tiny country on the border of Ukraine. Russia probably has (had?) plans to continue its march. They should probably get that done before Russia tries to raise a new iron curtain. >
  
  Not ‘probably’. Idiot lukashenko disclosed the plan to attack Moldova if Russia was successful taking Odessa >
  
  Kissinger has long said Ukraine should remain neutral and not join NATO. Despite this, he said at Davos that the country joining the Transatlantic alliance could be an "appropriate outcome" of Russia's invasion.