Iurie Leanca: A decree won’t make the Russians withdraw their troops

Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iurie Leanca held a press conference on Friday evening, June 25 to express his doubt that a presidential decree would lead to Russian troops’ withdrawal from Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. Leanca's statement came after acting President Mihai Ghimpu issued a decree declaring June 28 as the Soviet Occupation Day. The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted in critical manner, considering that an article of the decree stipulated Russian troops should unconditionally be withdrawn from Moldova’s Transnistrian region. “Indeed we must know the historical truth. However, if we let our emotions take over, it’ll be hard to settle our national interests. We consider it’s best to have a pragmatic approach, to find out the reasons of the Transnistrian conflict, why it hasn’t been solved and so on”, Leanca stated. Minister Iurie Leanca seemed optimistic regarding Moscow-Chisinau relationship and expressed his hope there would be enough pragmatism to enhance the bilateral affairs.