In a Feb. 23 phone conversation, Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg agreed that a NATO liaison office planned in Chisinau would open in June, Infotag news agency reported. Stoltenberg said that the accreditation process for the office will begin in March. This formalizes a November deal between the Moldovan government and NATO. Newly elected Moldovan President Igor Dodon from the Socialist Party has categorically opposed this NATO office and argued that it breaches Moldova's neutrality. Dodon met with the prime minister and the parliamentary speaker Andrian Candu on Feb. 21. Dodon said that if the Socialist Party wins 2018 elections it would close the NATO office. Dodon said that if the Socialist Party wins 2018 elections it would close the NATO office.