Only 24% of Moldovans would back accession, with 55% against, according to an IMAS poll in February

Moldova is not ready to join NATO because its own citizens don't want the membership, Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi has admitted.

Popsoi, a close ally of pro-Western president Maia Sandu, made the remarks on Saturday in an interview with Vocea Basarabiei TV, where he was asked whether he thought the former Soviet republic should seek closer ties with NATO or pursue full membership.

While Popsoi called himself "a sincere supporter of everything related to Euro-Atlantic security," he acknowledged that public support is not there.

"Integration into NATO, as into any other international structure, depends on the will of our citizens. Once there is a significant majority support for joining the North Atlantic Alliance, this can be examined as a natural option... In our case, historically, for various reasons, this significant majority has not existed," he said.

According to an IMAS poll in February, 55% of Moldovan citizens would vote against joining NATO if a referendum were held at the time, with only 24% saying they would support membership.

In addition to insufficient popular support, another factor blocking Moldova's potential membership is the breakaway region of Transnistria, which seceded from the country after a short war in the early 1990s. Transnistria currently hosts Russian peacekeepers to maintain the ceasefire and guard Soviet-era weapons and ammunition stockpiles.

The Moldovan Constitution also contains a clause establishing "permanent neutrality," which legally prevents the country from joining any military bloc, including NATO. The legal constraint, however, did not stop Moldova from forging closer ties with NATO.

The Sandu government has been pushing for integration with the EU, but the president herself also acknowledged the lack of public appetite for NATO membership. She, however, tried to explain the overbearing "fear of NATO" by what she described as "years of propaganda by the Russian Federation."

Russia has long been vehemently opposed to any NATO expansion, viewing it as an existential threat. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also suggested that Moldova's current authorities are making a "serious mistake" by making Russia their antagonist for the sake of building relations with the West.

Popsoi also weighed in on another politically charged question: unification with neighboring Romania - which would automatically bring Moldova into NATO. He said that while he is personally in favor, such a move would require "a pragmatic discussion [and] a dialogue with all our citizens." According to an IMAS poll, only 30% would back unification.