The Partnership for Peace was signed by Mircea Snegur and Manfred Wörner, on 16 March 1994, with Moldova becoming the 12th signatory country and the second of the Commonwealth of Independent States after Ukraine.

[2][3] US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stopped, en route to Istanbul, in Moldova, where he called for the withdrawal of Russian forces from the country.

The new ruling party, the Alliance for European Integration, declined to take any action to either move towards membership, or withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States, and denied plans to do either.

[9] Some Moldovan politicians, such as former Minister of Defence Vitalie Marinuța, have suggested joining NATO as part of a larger European integration.

[13] This separatist issue could preclude Moldova from joining NATO,[14] due to an unwillingness of alliance members to commit to defending a state which does not control its whole territory.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu stated in January 2023 that there was "serious discussion" about joining "a larger alliance" following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, though she did not specifically name NATO.

[15] Some Moldovan politicians, including former Prime Minister Iurie Leancă, have also supported the idea of unifying with neighboring NATO member Romania, which Moldova shares a language and much of its history with.