Vladimir Voronin informed Western diplomats about discussions held with Putin

President Vladimir Voronin had an informal meeting, at his Condrita residence with ambassadors of the EU, U.S., European Commission, Council of Europe, OSCE, Russian Federation and Ukraine, and accredited diplomats in Moldova. According to an official statement released by the Presidency, the president informed the officials about the latest developments on the process of Transnistrian settlement, the recent conversation with Valdimir Putin on this topic and on other actual problems. Voronin reaffirmed the interest of Moldovan authorities to resume negotiations as soon as possible with regards to the Transnistrian settlement in the “5+2” format, in order to identify a viable solution for the conflict. The president reiterated the position of the authorities regarding the reintegration of Moldova and respecting the neutrality principle, as outlined in the Constitution. In addition, he discussed the elaboration of an equitable status for Transnistria and granting of political, socio-economic guarantees for the population in the region. In that respect, the head of state mentioned the efficient dialogue held in Moscow with the Russian head of state, which included references to the Transnistrian situation, as well as issues regarding bilateral relations. The president mentioned that issues already solved were also on the political agenda. These included the opening of the Russian market for agricultural products and wine, as well as Moldovan goods availability on the Russian market; the examination of issues regarding methods to attract Russian investments in Moldova, the perspective to develop a partnership in the energy sector, transport infrastructure, and other traditional areas of cooperation, such as processing and wine industry. According to the official statement, the ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic missions consider the meeting extremely useful in order to clarify different issues related to the settlement of the Transnistrian dispute, consolidation of the partnership relations and reciprocal trust.