In Brussels, Moldova's Voronin sets conditions for new Pridnestrovie talks

Moldova's Head of State Vladimir Voronin, left, poses for the cameras with EU's Benita Ferrero-Waldner. (Photo: Moldpres)

BRUSSELS (Tiraspol Times) - In Brussels on Tuesday, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin had a meeting with European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Moldova's state-run Moldpres informed. The meeting was held in conjunction with Voronin's participation in the tenth meeting of the Moldova-EU Cooperation Council, according to the presidential press service.

Ferrero-Waldner said the EU is ready to do “absolutely everything” to support the conflict-resolution process with Transdniestria, RFE/RL reported, but also said that it is imperative that the two parties themselves first agree to resume talks.

The EU delegation was headed by the President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel. The Slovenian Foreign Minister currently heads the EU-Moldova Cooperation Council.

President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel.

At the start of the meeting, the Slovenian Foreign Minister urged Moldova to follow through on measures to enhance mutual trust which had been proposed by President Voronin. "It is an important step," commented Dr Rupel, assessing the measure as a response to the effective interests of Pridnestrovie. The level of openness demonstrated by Russia in this context was also a favorable sign, he added.

However, during the meeting in Brussels the Moldovan leader preconditioned his future dialogue with Pridnestrovie's government by saying that Pridnestrovie must first accept a so-called "broad autonomy" within Moldova, the details of which have not yet been defined.

By contrast, both the European Union and Russia have urged the two sides to sit down together for free and openminded talks in order to "hear each other out" with no preconditions.

EU naming both "Pridnestrovie" and "Transnistria"

Tuesday's official EU press release for the first time used both the preferred local name of the disputed entity - "Pridnestrovie" - as well as the name used by Moldova, "Transnistria." Although written in English, the more commonly used English names of Transdniester and Transdniestria were not included.

Moldova and the European Union openly disagreed on how to describe their get-together in print. According to an official press release by the EU, the issue of Pridnestrovie (Transnistria) was the main theme of the political dialogue at the meeting of the EU-Moldova Cooperation Council held on Tuesday in Brussels. But according to Voronin's presidential press service, a number of non-Pridnestrovie related issues were the key items and "Transnistria" (Moldova's name for the 'de facto' independent country) was mentioned merely as an afterthought or an aside, with a single sentence noting that "an informal sitting on Transnistria-related topics was held within the meeting too."

In addition to the Pridnestrovie-related topics, the Slovenian Foreign Minister told Moldova that it is important to conduct its parliamentary elections in 2009 in line with international standards. On this point, Rupel expressed concern at the latest amendments to the electoral law, which increased the electoral threshold to 6% and which will automatically exclude all but the largest political groups from Parliament.

Other concerns which were mentioned include corruption, Moldova's lack of pluralism in the media and the country's dismal human rights record. (With information from Moldpres, RFE/RL)

See also:
» Brussels statement: Unrecognized states need voice in world community
» Moldova and Transdniester Parliament leaders meet in Brussels for EU-led talks
» European Parliament conference on Transnistria; other 'de facto' states

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