PM to represent Moldova at GUAM Heads of State Summit

The presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine will meet on Tuesday, June 19 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in order to discuss the possibilities to cut Russia’s influence in the energy sector. Those three states are part of the pro-western bloc GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova), which was created as a counterweight to the authority held by Moscow in the territories of the former Soviet Union. The meeting will be attended by Romanian President Traian Basescu, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and the Polish one, Lech Kaczynski. The representatives of over 30 countries and international organisations, including USA, China, Japan, Latvia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, as well as EU, OSCE, UN, NATO and CIS. The summit will be mainly dedicated to the oil supplies from Azerbaijan, via Georgia, Black Sea, to the Ukrainian pipeline Odessa-Brody. President of Ukraine Viktor Iushcenko said the participants will also address the issue related to the creation of joint peacekeeping forces in the region. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin will miss the summit, as he pays a visit to Luxembourg and Brussels, where he has several meetings scheduled with European officials. Voronin will be replaced by PM Vasile Tarlev. The meeting of the Council of GUAM Foreign Ministers of the Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development GUAM (ODED –GUAM) took place on Monday, June 18. Moldova is represented by Valeriu Ostalep, deputy-minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. GUAM – Japan meeting was organised for the first time. The Japanese deputy-minister presented the Japan – GUAM Cooperation concept, especially in economy, energy, transport and ecology. The participants in the GUAM –USA meeting emphasised the necessity of carrying out already worked out projects and ensuring the implementation of joint projects.