Foreign Affairs minister: Romania and the Republic of Moldova must restart talks on new consulates

Romania and the Republic of Moldova must re-engage in talks addressing the re-opening of new consulates, Romanian Foreign Affairs minister Cristian Diaconescu declared for RFI.

„Naturally, we must think immediately about negotiating a bi-lateral juridical framework between the two states, about adopting agreements to make the free movement between Romania and the Republic of Moldova more flexible, about the re-opening of new consulates in both countries and about the intergovernmental mixed commission re-starting its activities, focusing on economic cooperation, mutual investments and customs collaboration”, the chief of Romanian diplomacy said.

The Romanian – Moldavian bi-lateral relationships reached a maximum tension in the spring of 2009, when the Romanian ambassador was declared a persona-non-grata, and the new proposal from Bucharest, namely Mihnea Constantinescu did not please the authorities in power at that stage. With the shift in power in Chisinau, the temporary president Mihai Ghimpu decided on the annulment of the visas Romanians were subject to when travelling to Moldova, a first gesture of getting the bi-lateral relations on the normal track.

In regards to the consulates, Romanian has been requesting for the last years the opening of two consulates, in Balti and Cahul, but the Moldavian authorities have refused, despite Romania making it clear that it will not grant citizenship, but it will ease the process of Moldavians getting a visa to Romania.