Moldova ratifies border treaty with Ukraine
Last week’s visit of the Moldovan Prime minister Vasile Tarlev did not cause nearly as many ripples as did the visit to Kyiv of that nation’s President Vladimir Voronin, the first Communist leader in the post-Soviet space. This time the distinguished Moldovan guests had to discuss more specific things than did Mr. Voronin, who was continually asked where Moldova would go and whether the word GUUAM (a regional association of Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) would drop a letter. On July 11, following the seventh regular session of the intergovernmental Ukrainian-Moldovan commission, both sides signed five bilateral documents. Meanwhile, Mr. Tarlev was forced to continue discussing problems inherited from the previous government, including the four year old question of territorial exchange between Ukraine and Moldova and ratification of the treaty on border delimitation. One of the items under discussion is transfer to Ukraine a 7.8 kilometer stretch of the Odesa-Reni highway passing through Moldovan territory near the village of Palanka. Kyiv is in turn ceding a territory in the vicinity of the village of Giurgiulesti, where Moldova is building an oil terminal.
On July 12, a majority in the Moldovan parliament voted to ratify the Treaty on Delimitation of the Border with Ukraine. The legislature concurrently passed a supplementary agreement resolutely condemned by the republic’s opposition. The Moldovan media report that it was not easy for Moldovan deputies to make this decision despite the absolute majority held by the Communist in the lawmaking body. The Communists unconditionally supported the treaty, as did their leader, President Vladimir Voronin. Those who opposed the treaty were the Christian Democrats and the so-called Braghis Alliance (although, three deputies from the latter still voted in favor of ratification). Moldovan journalists point out that parliamentary Speaker Eugenia Ostapchuk, struggled to hide her irritation each time representatives of the opposition asked questions or made arguments against treaty ratification.
At the same time, about five hundred people protested in Chisinau against the passage by parliament of the Ukrainian- Moldovan agreement on border demarcation and delimitation. The opponents of ratification gathered near the government building and then marched toward parliament, where they held a rally. In the final analysis, the parliament of Moldova ratified the treaty by 73 votes, with 20 deputies opposed.
The opposition, as well as other critics of the document throughout Moldova, pointed out that the resolution ran counter to the existing constitution of the republic and insisted that Moldova was indivisible. In addition, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada ratified that same day the intergovernmental agreement on the reciprocal recognition of rights and the settlement of property relations, as well as a protocol on making changes to the previous agreement whereby Kyiv recognizes the property of Moldova in Ukraine). The opposition was apparently not satisfied with the assurances of the Moldovan Premier Tarlev that the now-signed version of the agreement is far more beneficial for Moldova in comparison with previous formula. In any case, ratification of the treaty is an accomplished fact. Incidentally, the Moldovan opposition has not yet made it clear whether it will appeal to the Constitutional Court.
