Lithuania Speaker says Chisinau holds the key to bringing EU closer for Moldova

Lithuania is Moldova’s partner, constantly reminding the European Union about issues the country is dealing with, as well as the solutions that must be undertaken to solve them, Viktoras Muntianas, Speaker of Lithuania’s parliament, stated in the Moldovan Parliament, on Friday June 22. According to Muntianas, the key to the closeness between Moldova and the European Union is to be found in Moldova itself. Meanwhile all efforts should be made in order to implement fully the EU-RM Action Plan, as well as ensuring that the financial input brought by the EU is absorbed in a transparent way. “To improve the current situation in mass media, human rights and combating corruption mechanisms, Moldova needs political will, rather than financial resources”, mentioned the Lithuanian official. Muntianas also stated that Moldova is convinced that Russia must honour the obligations it undertook in Istanbul and withdraw troops from the territory of Moldova. “The pacification process must be internationalised on the Moldovan territory, while the mission must conform to the international principles of pacification. We plead for further seeking of sustainable solutions for the future”, Viktoras Muntianas underlined. During a joint press conference, Speaker Marian Lupu said that the inter-parliamentary dialogue between the two states advanced considerably in the last couple of years, while the visit of his Lithuanian counterpart underlines the priorities, objectives and actions to be undertaken for the future. The guest from Vilnius scheduled several other visits, including a meeting with Prime-Minister Vasile Tarlev, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Stratan, a visit to the Embassy of Lithuania in Moldova and meetings with the Lithuanian community in Moldova .