Nicolae Chirtoaca, Moldovan ambassador in the US went on a business trip to New York City. According to a press release of the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chirtoaca met with representatives of the business and academic community, local mass-media and the Moldovan community settled in the US. The Moldovan diplomat participated in the “International Leadership Conference”, organised by the Universal Peace Federation. Besides that, he attended the ceremony where Mark Meyer received the title “Doctor Honoris Causa”. This ceremony took place at Saint John’s University in New York. Meyer is the head of the special Committee for European Affairs of the New York Bar Association, and he was also the leader of the group that formulated the Report on the legal aspects of the separatist crisis in Moldova, which was published in 2006. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, at the presentation of investment opportunities in Moldova, which took place at the Moldovan-American Chamber of Commerce, the ambassador encouraged American business people to make investments in the area of transport infrastructure, wine-making industry, informational technologies and communications, agriculture, food industry, and others. At the same time, according to the Romanian portal Hotnews.ro, Chirtoaca has made a few statements concerning the relations between Moldova and Romania, which currently do not quite reflect the common cultural, historical and linguistic origins of the two countries, the ambassador thinks. “We share the Romanian ethnicity; however we have a distinct, Moldovan identity. To make it even more clear, I always bring the example of Germany and Austria: we speak the same language and we have a common historical background, but we are different. We have a definite Moldovan identity. We have had a different history for 200 years; nearly 70% of our population identify themselves as Moldovan, while only three per cent say they are Romanians. This regional identity is more than enough to create a distinct country, with its own borders and laws”, the ambassador underlined. Chirtoaca mentioned that currently the relations between Moldova and Romania are quite tensed because of certain “exotic” and “irredentist” statements that president Traian Basescu made last year referring to Chisinau. However, Chirtoaca is convinced that this “artificial” period will be overcome. ”Moldova is an island of stability and security in this region of Europe. We would like to make this situation last as long as possible, said Chirtoaca, specifying that Moldova counts on the support of other countries in the process of European Integration. Among these countries, Chirtoaca referred especially to the Baltic former soviet countries which are independent now and are NATO members. The diplomat recalled the support offered by the Czech Republic and also Poland’s intentions regarding this issue. He also indicated that the support offered by Romania is part of the common efforts of enlarging the EU, coming from several countries in Central Europe. On the other hand, Chirtoaca accused Russia of leading an obstructionist policy against Moldova. He gave as an example the embargo set by Russia on Moldovan alcoholic beverages, which led to a 4% GDP decrease. The diplomat thinks that these actions, which targeted Georgia as well, aim at destabilising the situation in Moldova and to promote Russian geopolitical interests. “By trying to bring us back to the past and back to an authoritarian regime, by promoting aggressive policies and fortifying the Euro-Asian region, Russia doesn’t present any appealing plan. From an ethical and cultural perspective, these actions are far from corresponding to Christian values”, added Nicolae Chirtoaca, the Moldovan ambassador in the US.