CHISINAU Sept 25 (Interfax-AVN) - Tiraspol has been willing to ruin talks between Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and Transdniestrian leader Igor Smirnov, set for September 25, all along, Moldovan Reintegration Minister Vasile Sova told Interfax on Wednesday.
"It looks like we have failed today to find a common language with Tiraspol on the time and venue of the talks," Sova said.
As the first Voronin-Smirnov meeting was held in Bendery on April 11, Chisinau proposed holding the meeting in Dubossary, a town under Transdniestria's jurisdiction, or in Novo-Aneny, a Moldovan town on the right bank of the Dniester "to take the position of Chisinau, not only Tiraspol into account in the context of organizing such meetings," he said.
"Tiraspol insisted on Bendery and rejected all other options. Now Transdniestria is trying to blame Chisinau for foiling the meeting," the minister said.
Judging by Transdniestria's position at the start of the consultations on the meeting, Transdniestria has wanted to ruin it all along "in a way that would allow it to shift the blame to Chisinau," he also said. "Therefore, an inconsistent demand was proposed to hold the meeting exclusively in Bendery," the minister said.
The meeting has been indefinitely postponed, Sova said.