Valeri Klimenko: Never in their darkest nightmares have the Russians felt the urge to be closer to Romania

The Russians living in Moldova strongly oppose the idea of being citizens of Romania and of receiving certain facilities from the Romanian state, Valeri Klimenko, president of the Moldova-based Congress of Russian Communities (CRC), told a news conference today, quoting a statement by the Congress. The statement came in response to the affirmations made by the Romanian President on September 25. “Never in their darkest nightmares have the Russians felt the urge to be closer to Romania”, Klimenko said. In his words, Traian Basescu’s statements about easier citizenship procedures for Moldovans, including for Russians living in Moldova, “who wish to be closer to Romania”, offended the Russian community. A couple of days later, this thing was proved by an opinion poll. Conducted by a Russian polling organisation and commissioned by the CRC, the poll surveyed 1,726 respondents in the capital city, in Balti, in Gagauzia and in 8 districts. Klimenko maintains that most of the Russians living in Moldova, about 73 percent, endeavour to tie their future to the Russian Federation, wishing to acquire a citizenship and leave Moldova for good. 12 percent opted for a Russian passport, but a residence in Moldova, while 11 percent said they wouldn’t give up the Moldovan citizenship and didn’t want any radical changes in their lives. According to Klimenko, the poll showed that only 0.69 percent of the respondents wanted a Romanian passport, while 83 percent said they might need it to travel freely across Europe. Therefore, says Klimenko, Basescu’s statements amount to nothing more than a petty provocation, aimed to mislead the citizens of Moldova and the international community likewise.