Prime Minister Pavel Filip and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Groysman instructed to swiftly organize a meeting of the working groups that deal with issues concerning the functioning of the Nistru (Dnestrovsk) Hydro-Power Complex. In a meeting in Kiev, the two officials considered possibilities of ensuring the ecosystem’s protection and the sustainable development of the Nistru river basin, IPN reports.
According to the Government’s press service, the Prime Ministers underlined the importance of constructive interaction on the state border, including in organizing joint control at Moldovan-Ukrainian border crossing points. In this connection, they expressed the two states’ readiness to speedily sign the protocols on joint control at eight border crossing points.
Pavel Filip and Volodymyr Groysman agreed to finish the process of implementing the protocol designed to solve problems related to the exceeding of the 90-day stay by carriers on the territory of the two countries when transporting freight and passengers. As to joint infrastructure projects, the sides underlined the importance of opening the bridge across the Nistru situated near Unguri and Bronnitsya to motor vehicles. The officials also spoke about the construction of a new Yampil-Cosauti bridge across the Nistru.
While in Kiev, Pavel Filip took part in events held to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor, which is considered a tragedy of the 20th century. The famine was artificially organized by the Stalinist regime in 1932-1933. At an international forum, the Moldovan Prime Minister stated the death of millions of Ukrainians was caused by the policies of the Stalinist regime that aimed to destroy national consciousness and to establish fear.
The PM said each victim has a special place in history and Moldova will always support Ukraine’s initiatives to keep these events alive in people’s memory. “We are now all obliged to remember the tragedies of the past so as to be able to assess the present and to look into the future. We, in the Republic of Moldova, realize your pain as we experienced similar tragedies at the end of the 1940s, when hundreds of thousands of people died because of the organized famine at that time. These wounds are still bleeding, but they are our wounds and they are part of what we are at present,” stated Pavel Filip said.
He noted that Moldova continues to be near Ukraine now that the neighboring state faces new challenges related to the well-being and integrity of the country and its citizens. ”Currently, our values, dignity and freedom of our countries are also being attacked. You should know that you will always find a friend in Chisinau as the great things are actually the small things we do together. Together we can do so that our citizens live in free and democratic countries,” concluded the official.
The ceremony continued with a march in memory of the victims and an event entitled “Light a Candle” at the memorial complex in Kiev. This year Ukraine marks the 85th anniversary of one of the most serious crimes, the Holodomor.
