Any country ought to be able to make a choice of where it wants to affiliate, where it wants to conduct its economic activities, and in what way at which it conducts its affairs without external interference, and certainly without external pressures, said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who paid a visit to Moldova on December 4. “So I am here to affirm to you that the United States will stand with you. We’ve provided some assistance and we will provide more,” he stated, IPN reports.
In the statement released by the U.S. Department of State, the Secretary of State says the United States will continue to cooperate with Moldova on the European path. He congratulated Moldova for the important steps taken and being taken, the reforms that are put in place, the courage showed by the authorities and the people to express their determination to align themselves with Europe and with opportunity, to be free to choose where and how to engage in the economic activity.
According to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, the United States is a strong supporter of Moldova’s future in Europe, and its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. “Since the United States recognized Moldova’s independence in 1991, we have been working together to build a strong and constructive partnership focused on democratic values and economic development,” it is said in the statement.
The United States has worked closely with Moldova to sustain and develop its democracy, including providing in $6.2 million in 2013 to promote a strong, vibrant civil society, as well as to increase political participation, and to strengthen local governance and decentralization. The United States remains committed to the 5+2 negotiations process as a means to resolving the Transnistria conflict. The United States supports a comprehensive settlement that affirms Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while providing a special status for Transnistria.
John Kerry was the first Secretary of State to come to Moldova since Jim Baker in the 1990s.
