Moldova's
parliament has ratified a EU association deal signed in Brussels last Friday,
similar to the deal pivotal in Ukraine's crisis. Moscow says it will campaign
for Transdniestria, a breakaway region of Moldova.
Deutsche Welle, 2 July 2014
Moldova's
President Nicolae Timofti (pictured) said Wednesday after parliament's
ratification in the capital Chisinau that the former Soviet republic would next
ask for a timetable to join the European Union.
Moldova,
with 3.5 million people, is one of the poorest countries in Europe and has no
major heavy industry or natural resources. It lies between Romania and Ukraine
and has no border with Russia.
Moldovan
Prime Minister Iurie Leanca signed the association deal opening the door to
possible integration into the 28-nation EU on Friday alongside the leaders of
Ukraine and Georgia, also both ex-Soviet republics.
Russia
reacts by redirecting trade
On
Wednesday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Deputy Prime Minister
Dmitry Rogozin responded to Moldova's ratification by signing several memoranda
with Transdniestria to redirect goods produced for EU countries to the Russian
market.
Transdniestria
is home to about half a million people - 30 percent of ethnic Russian origin -
and about 2,500 Russian soldiers, and is dependent economically on remittances
from Russia.
In May,
Rogozin promoted a petition in which residents of the pro-Russian Moldovan
region backed a union with Russia.
EU
association pivotal to Ukraine crisis
The EU
association deal eventually reached with Kyiv was at the heart of the crisis
that erupted in Ukraine last year, when its former pro-Russian President Viktor
Yanukovych backed out of the deal and flew to Russia to firm up ties with the
Kremlin instead.
That
triggered huge protests, mainly in Kyiv, that drove him from power. Moscow
responded by annexing the mainly Russian-speaking Crimean Peninsula in March,
and pro-Russian separatists then rose up in Ukraine's eastern provinces.
EU
association allows for increased trade and political cooperation and can -
after a long and complicated procedure - lead to EU membership.
ipj/bk (Reuters, AP, AFP)
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