A group of experts from the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, November 28, will travel to Kiev to start works on border demarcation with Ukraine, as agreed by Prime Minister Vlad Filat with his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Timoshenko, at the recent CIS summit in Yalta. Filat has told a press conference on Monday it is important that understanding was reached with the Ukrainian side as to the procedures and the goals to be achieved during this process. Answering a question on the subject, Filat said the ceding of a 7km segment near Palanca to Ukraine cannot be treated as surrender, because, in turn, Ukraine ceded Moldova a portion of over 400 meters at Giurgiulesti, which affords Moldova access to the sea. Moldova must observe the provisions of the agreement signed in 1999 and demonstrate that it is a reliable partner, Filat added. He mentioned other problematic portions along the Moldo-Ukrainian border, like the Novodnestrovsk station or the Transnistrian segment, that must be given proper attention. Among other issues discussed with Yulia Timoshenko was the removal of trade barriers, some of them contravening the WTO rules, which is the case of the excises imposed on Moldovan brandy, or the additional transit taxes on Moldovan alcoholic beverages. The prime ministers also talked about the possibility of removing the monetary requirements for the Moldovan citizens traveling to Ukraine. Additionally, the Ukrainian side reiterated their availability to participate in the 5+2 talks on the Transnistrian settlement, and it was agreed that the activity of the Moldo-Ukrainian commission for economic cooperation, which has been suspended since 2006, should be resumed to settle some trade issues that appeared in the meantime.