Soldiers from the Republic of Moldova, Romania and the United States trained in Moldova during exercise Rapid Trident 2023, strengthening relations between NATO Allies and long-time NATO partner Moldova.
Synopsis
NATO Allies Romania and the United States strengthened their relations with the Republic of Moldova – a NATO partner – through exercise Rapid Trident 2023, recently held in Moldova.
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 soldiers from the Moldovan Army. As they worked through training drills, the 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. In 1994, the country joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme. The Partnership for Peace is a programme of practical bilateral cooperation between individual Euro-Atlantic partner countries and NATO. It allows partners to build up an individual relationship with NATO, choosing their own priorities for cooperation. While constitutionally neutral, Moldova has sought to draw closer to Euro-Atlantic institutions in recent years. Following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – which was carried out against the backdrop of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 - NATO Allies pledged to help build Moldovan institutions and increase their resilience against malign outside interference, in light of the deteriorating security environment
