Voronin Says He Wants to Consult Europe First

The Republic of Moldova considers it is premature to sign the Russia-proposed Memorandum prior to agreeing its provisions with European organizations, President Vladimir Voronin wrote in his Statement on Tuesday.

He stressed once again the country reintegration is the first-priority issue for the Moldovan state. "Last 10 years, there were many attempts to solve this problem, but they led to no result. The complexity of the Transnistrian question is determined by the fact that it has long ago ceased to be a domestic problem only. Each new attempt to settle the dispute inevitably led to a collision of the interests of both external forces and local politicians who sought to get their own political dividends", the President's statement read.

In his belief, Moldova was close, like never before, to the beginning of a full-scale settlement of the Transnistrian problem. "This became possible owing to a constructive and weighted position of Russia wHich sincerely Wished to establish a lasting peace on the Moldovan land", he wrote.

Voronin presumes the settlement plan offered by Russia is a result of a realistic compromise between the sides. "The principles of an asymmetric federation, elements of poly-linguism, mechanisms of the functioning of democratic institutions, included into the draft Memorandum, suit Moldova to a maximum possible extent. But documents of such a strategic importance cannot be adopted without a resistance from somebody's behalf. It is also apparent that the course for integration with Europe chosen by us presupposes an indispensable approval of the settlement plan by European structures, first and foremost by the OSCE. This is necessary to do to make sure that nobody could ever cast doubt on the European future of the Moldovan state".

"In this situation, the Moldovan government is going to continue consultations and interaction with the representatives of guarantor countries, mediators and other stakeholders in order to achieve an all-embracing settlement of the Transnistrian conflict", the President wrote.