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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 168, 01-09-05Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 5, No. 168, 5 September 2001CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] RIFT WITHIN ARMENIAN RULING COALITION COMES TO A HEADThe People's Party of Armenia (HZhK), the junior partner in the majority Miasnutiun parliament bloc, released a statement in Yerevan on 4 September arguing that Miasnutiun is defunct and calling for new parliamentary elections, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The statement further branded Miasnutiun's other member, the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), which is headed by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, a "stooge" of President Robert Kocharian, and accused the HHK of enacting "antipopular laws through all kinds of pressure and falsification." The tensions within Miasnutiun surfaced over a year ago, but to date neither party has called for its official dissolution, although more than half of the HZhK deputies have quit Miasnutiun (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 31, 3 August 2000 and No. 24, 23 August 2000 and Vol. 4, No. 22, 15 June 2001 and No. 29, 13 August 2001). HZhK leader Stepan Demirchian told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau that the current parliamentary majority "is artificial," and that Miasnutiun deputies should surrender their mandates and force a preterm election. LF[02] ARMENIA RESCHEDULES GEORGIA'S DEBTFollowing several months of negotiations, the finance ministers of Armenia and Georgia, Vartan Khachatrian and Zurab Nogaideli, reached agreement in Yerevan on 3 September on restructuring Georgia's $20 million debt to Armenia, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Most of that sum is compensation for the theft and loss in the early 1990s of gas intended for Armenia. Tbilisi will pay 4 percent of the total this year and the remainder in installments over the next 20 years, Caucasus Press reported on 4 September. LF[03] SENIOR ARMENIAN CLERIC INVITES AZERBAIJANI COUNTERPARTArmenian Catholicos Garegin II has invited Sheikh-ul-Islam Allakhshukur Pashazade, the leader of Azerbaijan's Muslims to attend the celebration in Yerevan later this month to mark the 1,700th anniversary of Armenia's adoption of Christianity as the state religion, Noyan Tapan and Caucasus Press reported on 5 September. Garegin said in his letter of invitation that a meeting between the two religious leaders could help to reduce tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan and thus contribute to a solution to the Karabakh conflict. Pashazade told journalists on 5 September that he has not yet decided whether to accept the invitation. LF[04] BAKU COURT ORDERS CLOSURE OF AZERBAIJANI NEWSPAPERBaku's Nizami district court ruled on 4 September that the independent newspaper "Bakinskii bulvard" must cease publication, and fined its founder, editor in chief, and a journalist 80 million manats ($17,090) each for slandering city Mayor Hajibala Abutalibov, Turan reported. Abutalibov had taken issue with an article published in "Bakinskii bulvard" in June criticizing what the paper termed the illegal demolition of street stalls in the capital. LF[05] GEORGIAN ANTICORRUPTION COMMISSION HOLDS FIRST SESSIONPresident Eduard Shevardnadze on 4 September chaired the first formal session of the 12-member anticorruption council established earlier this year. He called on the council's members to work together with the police and other law-enforcement agencies, which the council's chairman, Mirian Gogiashvili, had criticized for failing to take adequate measures to crack down on economic crime, according to Caucasus Press. But Justice Minister Mikhail Saakashvili charged that the council's work is "purely declamatory, " noting that Gogiashvili's speech failed to identify a single individual guilty of corruption. Saakashvili predicted that if the current trend is not reversed, within 2-3 years Georgia will come to resemble Honduras in the early 1960s, plagued with "little private armies and corrupt authorities." LF[06] GEORGIAN OPPOSITION ANNOUNCES BOYCOTT OF LOCAL ELECTIONS...The 11 opposition parties aligned in the Coordinating Council issued a statement in Tbilisi on 4 September saying they will not field candidates in the elections to local administrative bodies scheduled for 4 November, Caucasus Press reported. One of those 11 parties, the Union of Traditionalists of Georgia, has proposed postponing the poll until the spring of 2002 in order to allow for the passage of legislation on the territorial-administrative division of the country. SMK General Secretary Eduard Surmanidze said his party would support a postponement if other parties do likewise, Caucasus Press reported on 3 September, quoting the daily "Akhali taoba." LF[07] ...WARNS OF EMERGENCE OF SINGLE-PARTY DICTATORSHIPThe Coordinating Council also addressed a statement on 4 September to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe warning that a one-party dictatorship is imminent, Caucasus Press reported. They also complained that the amendments to the election law and the law on local government were passed in violation of procedural requirements (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 August 2001). Also on 4 September, parliament speaker Zurab Zhvania announced the creation of a special group to investigate claims voiced the previous day by Givi Topadze, the head of the opposition "Industry Will Save Georgia" faction, that the text of the amendments to the election law was changed after their passage in parliament. LF[08] KAZAKHSTAN PREPARES FOR ASIAN CONFIDENCE-BUILDING SUMMITForeign ministry officials from the 16 member states of the Conference for Cooperation and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CCCA) met in Almaty on 4 September to discuss preparations for the organization's first summit, which is to take place in Almaty on 8-10 November, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service and Interfax reported. The draft document to be adopted at the summit focuses on disarmament, confidence-building measures, new and traditional threats, and the prospects for a new regional security system, according to Kazakhstan's foreign minister, Yerlan Idrisov. Idrisov also suggested in response to a question from Interfax that the CCCA could play a role in helping resolve the Middle East conflict. LF[09] KAZAKHSTAN, RUSSIA MAKE PROGRESS IN DEMARCATING BORDERIdrisov also told journalists in Almaty on 4 September that Russia and Kazakhstan have agreed on demarcation of approximately half of their shared 7,000-kilometer land border, Interfax reported. The demarcation process got underway in 1999, but one year ago only some 700 kilometers of the total had been agreed upon (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 September 1999 and 7 September 2000). Idrisov said the demarcation of the border with China is near completion, and that he hopes an agreement on demarcation of the border with Uzbekistan will be signed during Uzbek President Islam Karimov's visit to Kazakhstan later this year. An agreement on the Turkmen- Kazakh border was signed two months ago (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 July 2001). LF[10] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT DECLINES TO RATIFY ARMS TREATY WITH UZBEKISTANDeputies to the Legislative Assembly (the lower chamber of Kyrgyzstan's bicameral parliament) on 4 September refused to ratify a treaty on arms supplies signed last year by the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Interfax reported. Deputies complained that Uzbek border guards increasingly encroach on Kyrgyz territory and extort money and goods from residents of southern Kyrgyzstan. LF[11] TURKMENISTAN LIMITS ENTRY VISASIn the run-up to the 27 October celebration of the 10th anniversary of Turkmenistan's declaration of independence, entry visas for citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are to be limited indefinitely beginning 5 September, AFP reported on 4 September. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] NATO INTERVENES TO STOP MACEDONIAN INCIDENTIn the first reported case of NATO troops halting a violent incident in Macedonia, NATO soldiers acted to save the life of an ethnic Albanian member of the Macedonian police, who was under fire from Macedonian paramilitaries on the Skopje-Tetovo highway, dpa reported on 5 September. NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters in Skopje: "The only official policemen at that scene was the Albanian policemen [sic]. The group of paramilitaries were not official." NATO spokesman Barry Johnson added that the NATO troops defused "the situation and insisted in ensuring that the police...left the area safely. [The soldiers] felt that there was a threat to the life of the Albanian policemen. Within normal rules, then, they were doing the right thing to prevent the imminent threat to someone else's life." It is not clear whether one or more than one ethnic Albanian policeman was involved. The same paramilitaries killed a Macedonian soccer player recently when he refused to stop at their checkpoint. PM[13] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT CONTINUES DEBATEThe Macedonian legislature is scheduled to continue debating the proposed peace settlement on 5 September after postponing a vote the previous day, Deutsche Welle reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September 2001). AP reported from Brussels that top EU officials Javier Solana and Chris Patten will travel to Skopje on 6 September for two days of talks with political leaders. PM[14] REPORT SAYS MACEDONIAN FORCES KILLED CIVILIANSHuman Rights Watch said in a report that hard-line Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski is responsible for the needless "revenge killing" of civilians at Ljuboten in August, "The New York Times" reported on 5 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 and 30 August 2001). The minister has denied the charges. PM[15] WESTERN MACEDONIAN ENVOYS TO MOSCOWEU special envoy for Macedonia Francois Leotard, his U.S. counterpart James Pardew, and OSCE envoy Max van der Stoel will hold talks in Moscow on 6 September with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, dpa reported from the Russian capital on 5 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September 2001, and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 31 July 2001). Pardew arrived to meet Russian leaders on 5 September, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[16] GEOANA WARNS MACEDONIANS AGAINST PLAYING POLITICSRomanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana, who holds the rotating OSCE chair, said in Bucharest on 4 September that Macedonian politicians should not allow electioneering for the January 2002 vote to interfere with resolving the crisis, Reuters reported. He stressed that "the big danger will not be so much this anti-Western feeling, which is partly manipulated [by unnamed persons], but the upcoming elections due to be held after the agreement is implemented. We must ensure that no one will be tempted by the electoral frenzy to disrupt the process" of implementing the settlement. PM[17] HAGUE TO INVESTIGATE CRIMES AGAINST KOSOVA SERBSCarla Del Ponte, who is The Hague tribunal's chief prosecutor, said in Belgrade on 4 September that her office is looking into possible atrocities committed against Kosova Serbs after the end of Serbian rule in the province in June 1999, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic said that Del Ponte asked him to provide information on such crimes. In Prishtina, former Kosovar guerrilla leaders Ramush Haradinaj and Hashim Thaci denied that their forces were involved in anything but a "liberation war." PM[18] DEL PONTE, SERBIAN LEADERS TO COOPERATE ON BOSNIAN SERBS?Del Ponte said in Belgrade on 4 September that the Serbian authorities agreed to help extradite leading Bosnian Serb war criminals Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and Justice Minister Vladan Batic later denied that they had done so or that they had discussed the two men with her at any length. Djindjic stressed that neither Mladic nor Karadzic is a Serbian citizen and that the government does not know where they are. Djindjic said he was "surprised" by her statement but suggested that she may have made it in order to exert psychological pressure on the two indicted men. PM[19] SFOR: KARADZIC, MLADIC NOT IN BOSNIAOutgoing SFOR commander U.S. General Michael Dodson said in Sarajevo on 4 September that Karadzic and Mladic do not live in Bosnia, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Dodson added that the two visit Bosnia frequently but do not stay long. "That makes them very difficult to apprehend," he suggested, noting that their lifestyles have become "Spartan." Dodson added that it is known where the two live but that he is not at liberty to say where. The next day, Del Ponte said in Sarajevo that she is "very, very interested" in what Dodson has to say, adding she looks forward to receiving "important information" from him on the whereabouts of Karadzic and Mladic. PM[20] CROATIA ARRESTS FOUR FOR ATROCITIESThe authorities have arrested four Croats in conjunction with possible atrocities committed against Serbian civilians during and after Operation Storm in 1995, "Vecernji list" and "Jutarnji list" reported on 5 September. Two men were arrested in Sibenik and one each in Sinj and Makarska. "Vecernji list" suggested that this could be the start of a wave of arrests in connection with Operation Storm. PM[21] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT AGAIN SLAMS GOVERNMENTPresident Vojislav Kostunica told "Politika" of 5 September that corruption is "rife" in the government. He added that crime is so rampant that the police are either in league with organized crime or "incompetent." PM[22] RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIAThis week religious instruction will begin in Serbian schools for the first time since World War II, Deutsche Welle reported on 5 September. Serbian Orthodox chaplains were reintroduced into the Serbian armed forces earlier this year. The Republika Srpska already has Serbian Orthodox religious instruction in the schools. Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic and Roman Catholic Cardinal Vinko Puljic discussed in Banja Luka on 4 September plans to make religious instruction available to Roman Catholic pupils as well, "Oslobodjenje" reported. Supporters of religious instruction in the schools argue that it is necessary to fill the moral and spiritual void created by half a century of communism. Opponents of religious instruction say that it will contribute to polarization and discrimination along religious lines, as well as discriminate against nonbelievers (see "RFE/RL South Slavic Report," 18 and 25 January 2001). PM[23] LEGISLATIVE BOYCOTT IN ALBANIAThe parliament elected on 24 June (and in subsequent runoffs) convened on 3 September, Deutsche Welle's "Monitor" reported. The only opposition deputies present were the six legislators from the ethnic Greek party. Party leader Vasil Melo said that he hopes that the rest of the opposition deputies will soon take their seats lest a "vacuum" develop. Outside the building, supporters of former President Sali Berisha lit candles in a protest designed to call attention to what they say was electoral fraud. Most foreign observers feel that the elections were quite free and fair by Albanian standards (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 3 August 2001). Berisha is still hoping that legal experts from the Council of Europe will agree in his favor. PM[24] ROMANIAN EU ACCESSION PERFORMANCE GETS MIXED MARKS...The report presented on 4 September by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) rapporteur Emma Nicholson includes both criticism and praise for the Romanian performance, Romanian radio reported. The report says judiciary independence is questionable and too little has been done to cope with the problems of corruption, public administration reform, and the integration of national minorities. It also notes "with worry" indications of restrictions on freedom of information and the independence of the media. It says agricultural reform has not advanced and there are serious deficiencies in environment protection and in promoting legislation for social security and the reform of the health system. But Nicholson also praised Romania for "positive signals" in economic performance, for its performance as chair of the OSCE, for the government's decision to accelerate the process of EU accession, and for improvement in the situation of abandoned children. Addressing PACE before the presentation of Nicholson's report, EU's commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen spoke of "a silver lining" in regard to "the situation of orphans and the adoption business" and said "things are beginning to change with the current government." MS[25] ...PROMPTING PREMIER TO 'SEE THE GLASS HALF-FULL'Reacting to the report, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said its findings must be read in juxtaposition with the "very critical" report last year, Romanian radio reported. He said there is "always a difference between change and its perception as such" and that he is "glad" that the visits to Bucharest of Verheugen, Baroness Nicholson and other EU officials have somewhat contributed to changes in the perception of Romania's performance. Nastase also added that "we are all aware that much is yet to be done," but that " the significance of the words of encouragement in Strasbourg is positive." MS[26] ROMANIAN PREMIER DEPLORES 'INTERNATIONALIZATION' OF ROMANIA'S PNTCD RIFTNastase also said it is "unfair" of the wing in the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) led by Victor Ciorbea to have alerted the PACE Popular Party Christian Democratic (PPCD) to the alleged intentions to "liquidate" the PNTCD, Mediafax reported. On 4 September, PPCD parliamentary group Chairman Hans-Gert Poettering said during the PACE debates on Romania that he is "worried by the decision to withdraw the status of a political party from the PNTCD." Nastase said he has instructed Romanian representatives to explain that "in Romania there are two PNTCDs" and the conflict between that party's two wings must await the decision of the judiciary. The Bucharest Municipal Tribunal last week refused to register the merger between the wing led by Ciorbea and the National Alliance Christian Democratic, with the implicit result that the dissident wing is now the only legally registered formation. The Ciorbea wing appealed the decision on 4 September. MS[27] ROMANIAN LOCAL ADMINISTRATION IN FLUXNo less than one-quarter of mayors elected in the June 2000 local elections have since changed their political allegiance, Romanian television reported on 4 September, citing a study conducted by the Institute of Public Policy. Most of the migrant mayors (534) switched to the ruling Social Democratic Party and most losses were suffered by the extraparliamentary Alliance for Romania, which now has only a quarter of the mayors it elected in 2000. MS[28] ROMANIAN COURT TO CONSIDER CASE OF CZECH MURDER SUSPECTCzech Businessman Frantisek Priplata, who has been detained in Romania for a year on murder charges, has been transferred from a prison in Satu Mare to the Jilava prison near Bucharest, ahead of the 12 September hearing on his case at the Supreme Court, CTK reported on 4 September, citing Czech Consul Petr Riha. Priplata was detained in September 2000 and charged with having ordered the murder of Iasi Tepro trade union leader Virgil Sahleanu. Sahleanu had campaigned for the nullification of a contract under which the Czech company Zelezarny Veseli acquired a majority stake in the Tepro iron- rolling mill. Seven other suspects of complicity in the murder, including Tepro Director Victor Balan, have also been detained. MS[29] ROMANIAN HISTORY STUDENTS DIRECTED TO 'AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES'Second-year history students taking correspondence courses at Cluj Babes- Bolyai University this year are using a textbook that cites such "authorities" in medieval history as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Nicolae Ceausescu, Romanian television reported on 4 September. The students complained that the professor who selected the texts in the manual displays a "lack of respect" for his students and say the textbook includes photocopied materials from books printed before 1989, among which is the former Romanian dictator's collection of speeches. The dean of the department, Professor Teodor Nicoara, said the selection of the texts is due to a "mistake." MS[30] RUSSIAN DUMA DEPUTIES SAY MOSCOW SHOULD 'IGNORE' ISTANBUL SUMMIT DECISIONSIn an interview with the official Transdniester news agency Olivia Press, Georgii Tikhonov, the head of the Russian State Duma's commission on the settlement of the Transdniester conflict, on 4 September said that "The Russian Federation will not honor its obligations agreed on at the November 1999 Istanbul summit," Flux reported. Tikhonov said that "in view of NATO's expansion to the east, Russia must consolidate its positions in Transdniester." He said that the Duma never ratified the summit's decisions and consequently they are not binding on Russia. Duma deputy Viktor Alksnis told Olivia-Press that Russia faces two options -- becoming a second-rate power European state, or bringing about the revival of its "geopolitical empire," with the second option being "in line with the millenary traditions of Russians." This second option, he added, will also "guide Moscow's policies towards the Transdniester." Both deputies agreed that "the Moldovan Transdniester Republic is a sovereign but internationally unrecognized state, while the Moldovan Republic is internationally recognized but not sovereign." MS[31] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT IN BULGARIAVisiting Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and his Bulgarian counterpart Petar Stoyanov on 4 September called for international respect for Macedonia's territorial integrity and sovereignty and said the implementation of the agreement to disarm Albanian rebels is crucial to prevent the conflict from deteriorating into a civil war, international agencies reported. Kuchma said Ukraine support's NATO's efforts in Macedonia and is ready to contribute to the peace process in that country. The two presidents spoke after officials representing the sides signed seven cooperation agreements. One of these accords permits the transit of Ukrainian troops to join international peacekeeping forces in Kosova. Another agreement is on the repatriation of Ukrainian nationals who are illegally in Bulgaria. Kuchma called on Bulgaria "not to act to hastily" in introducing visa requirements for Ukrainians and to set a bilateral working group to examine the issue (Bulgaria pledged to introduce the requirement after the EU listed visa requirements on Bulgarians in April). Also signed were accords on cooperation between the two countries' interior ministries and customs services, as well as on combating crime. Kuchma was to meet with Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski on 5 September before returning to Kyiv. MS[32] IMF CONCERNED OVER BULGARIAN REFORMSThe International Monetary Fund on 4 September said it is "concerned" over the possible effects of the fiscal reforms proposed last month by the new Bulgarian cabinet, AFP reported. IMF spokeswoman Piritta Sorsa said the organization is concerned over the potential impact of proposed tax reductions. An IMF official is expected in Sofia next week to sign a new agreement with the government. Meanwhile, the cabinet on 4 September replaced the head of the agency that supervises the sale of state property, without offering any explanation for the decision. Apostol Apostolov, the former executive director of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, succeeds Levon Hampartsumyan as director of the Privatization Agency, AP reported. Hampartsumyan had been appointed by the previous Bulgarian cabinet. MS[C] END NOTE[33] ROMANIA CRITICIZES MOLDOVA'S DECISION TO HALT SALE OF ENERGY NETWORKSBy Eugen TomiucThe Romanian government last week criticized a decision by Moldova to cancel the sell-off of two of the country's electricity networks in which two private Romanian energy companies had expressed interest. Moldovan officials earlier last week announced that the sell-off of two of the countries biggest distribution networks (REDs) -- RED North and RED Northwest -- had been canceled. The decision came as a Moldovan court ruled that shares of RED North must be auctioned off to partially repay the $5 million Moldova owes the Ukrainian company Energoalians for electricity sales over the past few years. According to the ruling, Energoalians has priority in buying the shares. The announcement came after Electrica and Termoelectrica -- two Romanian energy firms interested in the privatization of the Moldovan networks -- sent experts to Moldova to assess the situation. Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase was quick to criticize the decision to cancel the sell-off and repay the debts to the Ukrainians with shares in the two companies. "It is not normal, when we want to participate in [the Moldovan] electricity networks sell-off, to learn that [Moldova's energy] debts to Ukraine have been transformed into shares in these networks, and that the public bidding -- in which two Romanian firms were involved -- was canceled two or three days ago," Nastase said. The Romanian premier warned that Romania might request similar treatment from Moldova, which owes Bucharest some $32 million in unpaid energy bills. He also urged Romanian authorities and companies to be more pragmatic and aggressive in tackling the issue of Moldova's debts to Romania. Romania and Moldova share what they call a "privileged relationship" based on kinship and common language. Moldova was part of Romania before World War II, and some 65 percent of its 4.5 million population is Romanian. However, economic cooperation between the two countries has been very limited in the decade since Moldova proclaimed independence from the Soviet Union. Both Romania and Moldova -- with monthly per capita incomes of some $100 and $30 respectively -- are among the poorest European states. But while Romania is gradually shifting toward integration into Western structures, Moldova -- which voted Communists back into power earlier this year -- has recently begun to lean further toward Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet republics. Moldova's Communist president, Vladimir Voronin, says his pro-Moscow orientation is based mainly on economic pragmatism. Moldova has long been heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas, while the huge Russian market can easily absorb Moldova's main products -- wine, tobacco, and foodstuffs. Russia is by far Moldova's largest trading partner, receiving almost 40 percent of Moldovan exports, while Romania accounts for a mere 9 percent. Some 35 percent of Moldovan imports originate in Russia and Ukraine, compared with less than 16 percent in Romania. Moldova also owes Russia some $600 million in unpaid energy bills, making it vulnerable to Russian pressure -- as happened last winter, when Russia temporarily cut off gas deliveries because of late payments. Foreign direct investment in Moldova accounts for a mere $350 million. Russia constitutes the main foreign investor, with some $150 million -- or more than 40 percent -- invested. When he came to power in April, Voronin also pledged to bring Moldova into the fledgling Russia-Belarus Union. But little has been done so far, and a visit earlier last week to Minsk by Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev ended with no mention of the union. And in an interview with Moldovan Radio on 4 September, Moldova's new foreign minister, Nicolae Dudau, said that declarations made earlier by the country's leadership on the intention to join the union "remain valid," but that "does not mean Moldova is ready to join the union now, since its structures are still being molded." Despite Voronin's communist rhetoric, Tarlev -- a technocrat -- is increasingly conscious of the troubles Moldova's economy is facing as winter draws near. On 30 August, he indicated his government's interest in increased economic cooperation with Romania -- which may become an alternative source of energy during winter. The same day, Tarlev also tried to water down the fledgling privatization dispute with Bucharest. He refused to comment on Nastase's remarks regarding the cancellation of the deal, and said Moldova is willing to improve its economic relations with Bucharest. But he defended the decision to cancel the sell-off of the two energy networks, saying Moldova "has not lost anything." Tarlev also pointed out that the deal is solely his government's business: "Each state has its own major interests and has the right to modify, to solve, or to initiate certain issues," he said. Tarlev also announced that he will meet with Nastase and Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh in Chisinau in mid-October. The meeting, he said, was meant to improve economic cooperation between Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. 05-09-01 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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