Basescu expected in Chisinau Jan 27

Romanian President Traian Basescu is expected to visit Chisinau on January 27, announced Moldovan Foreign Minister Iurie Leanca at a press briefing on Saturday, Info-Prim Neo reports. He said he can't give many details, because the agenda is still being worked on, but described the upcoming visit as “full of meetings and substantial discussions”, which could be a landmark in further developing bilateral relations. Iurie Leanca also spoke about the meeting which he had with his Romanian counterpart, Teodor Baconschi, at the informal summit Snow Meeting, organized by the Lithuanian MFA in Trakai. Leanca said they managed to establish a personal connection, which is expected to strengthen the Chisinau-Bucharest relationship. “We reviewed a number of issues. It is intended to institutionalize and systematize the political dialogue. The visit of Traian Basescu to Chisinau perfectly fits in with this opening”, he said. Speaking about his visit to Takrai, the Moldovan foreign minister said he had a number of meetings with European officials, with whom he discussed the future and the problems of the Republic of Moldova. “We must understand that the Republic of Moldova is not a priority for the EU, it is we that must attract Europe's attention”, declared Iurie Leanca. Leanca also spoke about the visit to Washington that he and Prime Minister Vlad Filat are going to make next week, describing it as “a very important visit for the bilateral relationship between our countries”. It was earlier reported that a key item on the visit agenda would be the signing of a $262 million compact agreement with the Millennium Challenge Corporation. The Moldovan delegation will also meet with representatives of IMF and UN. Leanca mentioned that a meeting with US President Barack Obama was neither scheduled, nor solicited. “We should develop an ascendant relationship and in the future I guess such a meeting will be possible as well”.