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Books on Moldova
REPUBLICAN REFERENCE
Area (sq.km)
33,843
Population
4,446,455
Principal
ethnic groups
Moldovans 64.5%
Ukrainians 13.8%
Russians 13.0%
Capital
Kishinev
(Chisinau)
Currency
Leu (plural: Lei)
President
Vladimir Voronin
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Update No: 305 - (30/05/06)
Fall-out with Moscow worsens
Moldova has the last remaining communist government in Europe. But actually this
is a formality. Belarus has a much more Soviet-style regime.
Moldova is becoming more and more directed towards the West and more and more
alienated from Russia. Indeed, Moscow is taking very hostile measures against
Moldova, charging it full world prices for gas, while banning Moldovan wine
imports.
Some vintners and workers in the wine industry are contemplating moves to
impeach President Vladimir Voronin, who is deemed to have been largely
responsible for the deterioration in relations by standing up to the Russians.
But most Moldovans back his stand on Transnistria, the secessionist region,
which is a notorious haven for gangsters and smugglers.
A sign of the new outward-looking approach of Moldova is that an International
Festival Between East and West is to be held there. Ankara State Theatre artists
will perform the plays 'Frenzy for Two' and 'Dog, Woman, Man' at the event. One
thing for sure is that there will not be any Russian State artists there
US says Moldova has many friends ready to help it
Although Moldova faces many difficulties, it has a lot of friends who are ready
to help it resolve its problems, Vice President of the United States Richard B.
Cheney told a meeting with President
Voronin during the Summit of Heads of State from the Baltic and Black Sea
Regions in Vilnius in early May. While there Voronin also conferred with
President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, a key country for Moldova. Voronin and
Cheney discussed prospects of bilateral relations between Moldova and the United
States, as well as actions taken by Moldovan authorities for territorial
reintegration and approach to the European Union (EU). The talks also focussed
on problems such as cooperation between Moldova and international financial
organisations, commercial-economic relations of Moldova with the Russian
Federation and other states.
Also, President Voronin had a meeting with EU Council Secretary-General Javier
Solana, EU high representative for foreign policy and common security.
The dialogue envisaged a series of issues of actuality concerning the
cooperation between Moldova and the EU, including the settlement of the
Transnistrian conflict.
Voronin reconfirmed the intention of Moldovan authorities to continue the
consistent implementation of measures aimed at a lasting political settlement of
the Transnistrian conflict. The president expressed gratitude to the EU Council
secretary-general for firmly supporting these actions. The chief of state also
expressed gratitude during the Vilnius Summit.
President Voronin highlighted the special importance of the decision to accept
Moldova as a full rights member of South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP),
noting that this action encourages the European integration aspirations of
Moldova.
Voronin and Solana tackled problems on commercial cooperation between Moldova
and the EU, the Russian Federation and other countries.
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AGRICULTURE
Farmers to cultivate land on left bank of Dniestr
Farmers from five Moldovan villages on the left bank of the Dniestr River will
be allowed to cultivate their land lying beyond the Rybnitsa-Tiraspol highway.
Chairman of Dybossary district administration, Grigory Polichinsky, said that a
tentative understanding was reached at a meeting of a special working group
recently.
"We managed to reach a consensus on the temporary registration of Moldovan
economic agents at respective authorities in Transnistria. The Tiraspol
administration should confirm this understanding," he said. Almost 6,000
hectares of farmland have remained uncultivated for two years after the
self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria demanded that a special tax be paid for
cultivating them. It has been estimated that in two years farmers from the five
Moldovan villages suffered losses in excess of US$ two million.
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FOOD & DRINK
Moldova seeking new wine markets - Tarlev
The Moldovan government is seeking new wine markets, Prime Minister, Vasile
Tarlev, said on the NIT television channel.
"Russia received 75 per cent of Moldovan exports in 2001, and only about 50
per cent in 2005. Meanwhile, the amount of Moldovan wine exported to Russia is
still rather large - over 75 per cent of total wine exports," he said.
"The Moldovan authorities are urgently searching for new wine
markets," he said, referring to agreements with member countries of the
Stability Pact for Southeast Europe. "We have also agreed increased wine
exports to Ukraine, Romania and Poland," he said. The practice of selling
all products to Russia turned out to be negative for the wine industry, Tarlev
said. "The fact that the Russians made most of the investment in the
Moldovan wine industry was also significant. The investors did not expect
Russian authorities to abruptly halt the import of Moldovan wine," he said.
Moldova is poised to adopt a set of measures to boost its wine and cognac
exports to Ukraine and consolidate on the market, Moldova's Foreign Ministry
said. The parties addressed the problems the promotion of Moldovan alcoholic
beverages to the Ukrainian market might face. Specifically, the meeting
participants handled the issue of maintaining a positive image of Moldova's
wines on the Ukrainian market, providing their stable quality and improving
marketing and advertising.
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