Moldova's Rebel Region Seeks Closer Cooperation with Russia, Abkhazia
November 4, 2009
BBC Worldwide Monitoring
The foreign ministry of Moldova's breakaway Dniester region has been taking steps to extend bilateral cooperation with the foreign ministries of Russia and Abkhazia, the Dniester official website Olvia-press quoted Dniester foreign minister Vladimir Yastrebchak as saying on 4 November.
Yastrebchak told a meeting with president Igor Smirnov that his recent visit to the Russian Foreign Ministry was focused on bilateral cooperation between Russia and the Dniester region. The sides also discussed the dynamics of the Moldovan-Dniester issue, in the context of a full-format meeting (Moldova, Dniester, Russia, Ukraine, OSCE, EU and USA) due in Vienna on 6 November, the website reported.
Yastrebchak also informed Smirnov about his 1-2 November visit to Abkhazia, where he met the region's president, Sergey Bagapsh, and foreign minister Sergey Shamba. "The Abkhazian authorities spoke about developments in the Geneva talks, while we informed them about the situation with the Moldovan-Dniester settlement," Olvia-press quoted Yastrebchak as saying.
The Dniester and Abkhazian officials also tackled issues concerning bilateral relations, the website added.
Source: Olvia-press website, Tiraspol, in Russian
