The Liberal Party (PL) accuses president Vladimir Voronin of promoting the Russian interests in Moldova. On March 18, president Voronin and Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov signed a declaration in Moscow. The same day, Russia promised Moldova 50,000 tonnes of fuel oil as humanitarian aid. “I think it's very lamentable to betray the state's interests for 50 thousand tonnes of fuel. I am certain we're not going to receive this aid,” PL president Mihai Ghimpu addressed a news conference on Monday. “Do our sovereignty, freedom, independence cost but 50,000 tonnes of fuel,” he asked. “By providing this material aid, Russia has shown it supports the ruling Communists Party,” reads a statement by the Liberal Party. Speaking about the declaration signed by Voronin and Smirnov in Moscow, the PL said the Moldovan president had accepted the condition impelled by Russia to discuss again the status of the peace-keepers in the security zone in the so-called 2 + 1 format, and not in the 5 + 2 format talks. “The 2 + 1 talks that president Voronin accepted and promotes are to confirm that the Communist rule makes Russia's game, the latter pursuing to undermine and block the talks in the present format,” the PL opines. Signing the joint statement in Moscow, in which the so-called “stabilizing role” of the Russian peace-keepers is lauded and they recognize the need to further keep them here, is in the interest of Russia, not in Moldova's interest. Russia was part of the 1992 conflict – this is confirmed through the agreement signed in 1992 by the former presidents Mircea Snegur and Boris Yeltsin and the ECHR sentence pronounced on Ilie Ilascu's case, in which the Russian Federation is recognized as an aggressor, the PL finds. “In accordance with the international practice, neuter peace-keepers must be used for conflict areas. Consequently, Russia may not have such forces in Transnistria,” Mihai Ghimpu said. “Another unfavorable aspect of Vladimir Voronin's visit to Moscow is the fact that he inked the joint declaration, as a head of a state, together with the break-away leader Igor Smirnov, as one does know in what capacity the latter signed the document,” the PL leader said. The party considers that the urgent solutions to resolve the Transnistrian problem are replacing the Russia-controlled peace-keepers with an international contingent; the 5 + 2 format of talks should be modified to a 7-side format by granting the status of negotiators to the EU and the USA; the new 7-party format should consider the full, urgent and transparent withdrawal of the Russian troops and ammunition from Moldova's soil, since the Transnistria issue cannot be solved as long as the Russian army is in Moldova, Ghimpu concluded.