Fourth contingent of National Army servicemen return to Moldova from Kosovo

Chisinau, 10 June /MOLDPRES/ - Forty one servicemen of the National Army, detached to the KFOR-4 Mission in Kosovo on 6 December 2015, have returned home. The military were met by Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu at an official ceremony, the parliament’s communication and media relations department has reported.     

The event started with the signing of the Moldovan national anthem by the National Army servicemen, accompanied by the Presidential Orchestra of Moldova. In the opening of the ceremony, the parliament speaker greeted the 41 military by a bow, as a token of high appreciation and respect.     

Andrian Candu thanked the servicemen for having exemplarily represented Moldova in the Kosovo mission, describing them as true ambassadors of the country.

“I want to express sincere appreciation for the sacrifice, patriotism, and in particular, for your professionalism. Due to the fact that you have fulfilled you mission exemplarily, we have additional requests and this is also a way to prove that the Army of Moldova deserves a place in the regional, European, and why not, the global security and defence system. Thus, our country switches from a consumer of security to an active participant in providing security,” the parliament speaker said in his message to the participants in the event.  

Subsequently, Speaker Andrian Candu took part, along with Defence Minister Anatol Salaru, in a ceremony of awarding the 41 servicemen, who were members of the Multinational Peacekeeping Force, deployed at the Italian military base Camp Vilaggio from Pech, Kosovo, during six months.   

Attending the event were representatives of the National Army’s command staff, military attaches accredited to Moldova, servicemen’s family members.  

KFOR-4 ended its mission in Kosovo on 8 June; it was replaced by another contingent of 41Moldovan military, led by lieutenant colonel Adrian Efros. The ceremony of transfer of authority between the two contingents took place at a military base from Italy.

(Editor L. Alcaza)