We must be realistic as regards the Transnistrian conflict settlement, Head of Parliament Marian Lupu said in reaction to European Commissioner Stefan Fule’s assertion that the Moldovans will benefit from a liberalized visa regime when Moldova and the Transnistrian region solve their problems, IPN reports.

”This statement comes to support my firm conviction that we must be down-to-earth and understand what the tasks and prospects of solving the problem are. I think that we must not make a connection between the liberalization of the visa regime and the settlement of the conflict as they are not related,” said Marian Lupu.

He believes that Moldova should have enough capacities to control the border with the EU. “After we obtain the liberalized visa regime with the EU, Moldova will have one more reason to solve the Transnistrian dispute,” stated the official.

Stefan Fule said that Moldova completed the first phase of the talks on the liberalization of the visa regime, but the country does not have an exact calendar of the next steps and it’s not yet sure when the Moldovans will be able to travel to the EU visa free.