Foreign Minister Reiterates Moldova's

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000906

SIPDIS

E.O.12958: DECL: 09/11/2018
TAGS: PREL PBTS MD EU
SUBJECT: Foreign Minister Reiterates Moldova's
Policy on Transnistria, EU Integration

Classified by Ambassador Asif Chaudhry for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: During the Ambassador's first
meeting with Foreign Minister (FM) Andrei Stratan,
on September 8, the Foreign Minister reiterated
Moldova's well-known policy positions. Moldovan
officials would discuss the Transnistria (TN)
conflict with Russian officials, but any final
settlement would only take place in the 5-plus-2
format. Moldova would not accept a Kozak-based
settlement that allowed for a federation or for
the presence of Russian troops. More than at any
other time, Moldova wanted to be a member of the
European Union (EU) and needed membership
"perspective," Stratan asserted. He asked the
U.S. to support Moldova's efforts to obtain
candidate status from the EU. End summary.

Transnistria
--------------


2. (C) The Foreign Minister thanked the U.S. for
its support on the Transnistrian frozen conflict
and stated that Moldova felt U.S. and EU
participation in TN talks was important. Stratan
thought that the increased recent activity
surrounding the TN issue was a positive
development. The FM acknowledged regular
discussions with Russia on a TN solution, and
thought that Russia seemed interested in "coming
closer to a solution." With a subtle note of
defiance, Stratan added that it was important that
Russian interests coincided with Moldovan
interests and not vice versa. He assessed recent
declarations from the Russian leadership on the
Medvedev-Smirnov meeting as seemingly favorable to
a TN resolution.


3. (C) "We will try to continue talks with the
Russian Federation," he said, "avoiding
federalization and a military presence." (Note:
In this formulation, we assume federalization
means the creation of a federation or confederal
state in which Transnistria would share almost
equal powers with the central government, in
effect creating two states joined into one supra-
state under one name. End note.) Stratan
insisted that Moldova was not discussing a second
version of the Kozak plan, as President Voronin
told A/S Dan Fried by telephone. The FM
speculated that maybe Russia hoped to show the
international community that a regional conflict
could be unfrozen differently than occurred in
Georgia.


4. (C) The Ambassador stressed that the U.S.
thought the 5-plus-2 format was the best way
forward and that a settlement of the TN conflict
should result in conditions favorable to Moldova.

European Integration
--------------


5. (C) Uppermost in Stratan's mind was Moldova's
efforts to join the European Union. He reiterated
Moldova's firm policy to seek EU membership and
continue adjusting Moldovan laws to EU standards.
The FM noted that Moldova had adopted 160 laws
during the past three years to bring its legal
regime to European standard. Now Moldova would
finalize those legal reforms and focus on their
implementation. He evaluated Moldova-EU relations
as positive, noting that Moldova would soon begin
negotiations with the EU on a new political
document to define the next stage of the
relationship.


6. (C) Moldova very much wanted the EU to grant it
the status of candidate for future EU membership.
Such a status would not upset European efforts;
some states had been candidates for decades,
Stratan pointed out. Meanwhile, candidate status
would send a strong signal to those who didn't
want Moldova to be a political part of the EU, he
stated. (Note: The FM was alluding to Russia.
In a recent conversation, Stratan asserted that
Russia did not want Moldova to be an EU member,
though Russia kept such a desire quiet. End
note.) Stratan flatly stated that Moldova
considered unacceptable the EU's grouping Moldova
with Ukraine regarding EU membership. "Each

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country has its particularities. Moldova has more
possibility to be an EU member state because it
has more stability than Ukraine," Stratan averred.


7. (C) The FM urged the USG to support more
vocally Moldova's EU aspirations. He also asked
that U.S. officials tell the EU to keep the EU
Border Assistance Mission in place along the
Moldovan-Ukrainian border.


8. (C) The Ambassador responded that the U.S.
supported Moldova's EU orientation. He noted that
Moldova would be able to develop and attract
Transnistrians to right-bank Moldova by improving
the investment climate.

Comment
--------------


9. (C) Stratan's statements didn't break new
policy ground but are notable for their
consistency. Moldovan officials have repeatedly
stated these positions on Transnistria and the EU.
We detect a greater urgency now behind the
Moldovan government's effort to obtain EU
candidacy. The Georgia crisis has likely
sharpened Moldovan officials' desires to gain the
protection of EU membership and ward off Russian
pressure. Post recommends that USG officials use
every appropriate opportunity to encourage the EU
to grant Moldova the status of candidate to EU
membership, even if final granting of membership
is years away.

Chaudhry