CHISINAU. Sept 9 (Interfax) - Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu has spoken in favor of developing relations with Russia based on mutual respect.
"Russia is an important partner for Moldova, and it is necessary to develop relations with it on the basis of mutual respect. We intend to work in a variety of fields, including unblocking trade relations. Naturally, there are a number of issues related to the Transdniestrian settlement process," Popescu said on Thursday at public consultations on Moldova's foreign policy strategy.
"Here, we want to move toward a stable solution on the basis of respect for the principles that we have always underscored: the withdrawal of Russian forces and the disposal of ammunitions. We want to achieve this in a political, respectful, conflict-free, and peaceful manner," he said.
When commenting on relations with Washington, Popescu said, "We want to strengthen strategic dialogue with the U.S. We have a multitude of avenues of mutual interest. We already have such dialogue, but we want to achieve more, both in terms of investments and in the field of institutional partnership."
Integration with Europe remains the top priority of the Moldovan authorities' foreign policy, he said.
"Our strategic goal and hope is to see Moldova inside the EU. Day-to-day work in all directions is needed to make that happen," Popescu said.
For his part, the director of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry's Department for the Development of Bilateral Relations, Andrei Popov, said that "removing and disposing of Russian weapons in Transdniestria remains a priority of Moldovan diplomacy."
"Moldova has been consistently pursuing this objective for 30 years, and this goal remains a priority for Moldovan diplomacy. But the reality is that not a single tonne of weapons stored at the depots in Cobasna has been taken out or disposed of over the past 17 years. And we need to change this situation," Popov said at the public consultations.
This problem should be solved "via a respectful, pragmatic, and principled dialogue with the Russian Federation. It could become the first step toward Russia's fulfillment of its obligations within OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]," he said.
Depots in the village of Cobasna, located on the left bank of the Dniestr River, store weapons and ammunition from the Soviet era which belonged to the former 14th Russian army. In the early 2000s, around 20,000 tonnes of ammunition were taken out and destroyed. Nearly the same amount remains there today.
During his visit to Chisinau in August 2019, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Russia's readiness to resume the disposal process, but the sides have not since discussed practical steps to do so.
Russian Presidential Deputy Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak said during his visit to Chisinau on August 11, 2021 that he had discussed this issue with Moldovan President Maia Sandu.