Moscow interested in Moldovan parties' platforms

Russian Ambassador in Chisinau Valery Kuzmin familiarized himself with the electoral program of the United Moldova Party in a meeting with the party's chairman Vladimir Turcan on September 22, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Russia wants to have pragmatic relations with Moldova. It is important to overcome the political instability and create conditions for economic development,” Valery Kuzmin said after the meeting. “It is normal for me to know the platforms of the parties as I can inform the Government of Russia and forecast the bilateral relations with Moldova.” Asked to comment on the public associations' intention to hold a national referendum on granting the status of official language to Russian, Valery Kuzmin said this is not the first intention of the kind. “The problem of the status of Russian language is topical. The people have the right to decide how to solve it,” he said. In this connection, Vladimir Turcan said the Russian language should have a special status in Moldova. The meeting of Valery Kuzmin and Vladimir Turcan forms part of the round of meetings between the Ambassador and party leaders held before the early legislative elections set to take place in November. The Ambassador confirmed that so far he has met with the AMN leader Serafim Urecheanu, Communist leader Vladimir Voronin, Prime Minister and chairman of the PLMD Vlad Filat, and the Democrat leader Marian Lupu.