Smirnov suggests October 9 or 10 as date for meeting with Voronin

The leader of the unrecognized Republic of Transnistria Igor Smirnov said in an interview with “Moskovski Komsomolets” he had sent a letter to the Moldovan Presidential Office inviting President Vladimir Voronin to a meeting on October 9 or 10 in Tiraspol, but the letter has been left without any reply. Smirnov assured he was ready to sit at the negotiation table and that the meeting would be open, with media representatives attending. At their last meeting in Bender on April 11, Smirnov handed over to Voronin a draft friendship and cooperation treaty between Transnistria and Moldova, but no feedback has been received. Now, in the wake of the events in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Smirnov seeks some king of non-aggression treaty guaranteed by the international community, in particular Russia and Ukraine. The Transnistrian leader reiterated the willingness of Transnistria's people to live in an independent state, citing the 2006 referendum as a solid proof to that. Concerning Moldova's plans to settle the dispute, Smirnov said that the legal instrument on which the Moldovan authorities rely mostly – a law adopted in 2005 which established the status of Moldova's eastern districts – could have just as well refer to Honduras. Talks to arrange a meeting between Vladimir Voronin and Igor Smirnov have failed repeatedly. Last time, the sides disagreed on the place and the date of the meeting.