Moldova’s President Vladimir Voronin did not attend the energy summit in Kiev because the relations between Moldova and Ukraine has worsened, a Ukrainian portal reports, quoting an anonymous source from the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine. The same reason was invoked for Romanian President Traian Basescu’ absence.

"In principle, Voronin’s and Basescu’s refusal can have considerable political and economic consequences and can weaken Ukraine’s position in the region,” the portal From-UA.com says.

According to the portal, Chisinau’s and Bucharest’s refusal to take part in the Commonwealth of Energy Transit Countries, which makes the creation of a common energy transit area from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea and Azov Sea impossible, is generated by multiple energy-related problems in the Romania-Ukrainian and Moldovan-Ukrainian relations.

The portal says that on the eve of the summit, the Moldovan and Ukrainian authorities could not agree on the fate of the Dnestrovsk hydroelectric station. The talks between the Ukrainian Energy Minister Iurie Prodan and the Moldovan Economy Minister Igor Dodon held in Kiev on May 20 ended with no results.

Yet, Igor Dodon said that Ukraine and Moldova have practically solved all the problems concerning the rights of ownership over the Dnestrovsk hydroelectric station and are close to signing an agreement to recognize Ukraine’s rights to the station and to demarcate the border in this zone.

Dodon said that Chisinau instead asks that Ukraine recognizes Moldova’s right to ownership over more than 60 facilities, mainly health resorts, built by the Moldovan authorities on Ukrainian territory during the Soviet period. Only 47 of the 108 such facilities were recognized by Ukraine as Moldova’s property.

In the past, Ukraine also claimed three facilities located on Moldova’s territory dating back from the Soviet times. According to Dodon, Moldova recognized two of the three facilities as Ukrainian property. The only facility in question is a part of the Dnestrovsk hydroelectric station situated in Moldova.

At a recent news conference, the Ukrainian Ambassador in Chisinau Serghei Pirojkov refuted the Ukrainian and Moldovan press reports that there are major disagreements over the Dnestrovsk hydroelectric station between Kiev and Chisinau // Reporter.MD


Publication date: 27 May 2008   

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