22 June 2006

Moldovan President visits NATO Background Individual Partnership Action Plans (IPAPs) News 21 Jun. 06 - NATO Visit to NATO by President of Moldova, H.E. Mr. Vladimir Voronin on Thursday 22 June 2006 Opinions 22 Jun. 06 - NATO Press point with the President of Moldova and the NATO Deputy Secretary General Multimedia High resolution photos of the press point Audio file of the press point (.MP3/7240kb) The President of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, visited NATO HQ on 22 June for talks with NATO Deputy Secretary General Alessandro Minuto Rizzo. President Voronin and the Deputy Secretary General discussed Moldova’s reform efforts as well as the security situation in the region. They also discussed Moldova’s Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO, which was recently agreed. In the Plan, Moldova has laid out its reform objectives in a variety of security-related fields, and NATO has addressed how its cooperation programmes will work to help Moldova achieve those reform objectives. Intensified political dialogue on relevant issues are an integral part of the process. NATO support “The Allies are looking forward to the implementation of the document,” said Ambassador Minuto Rizzo at a joint press conference following the meeting, “NATO will support Moldova wherever it needs assistance in implementing these difficult reforms”. President Voronin thanked NATO for its support, including two NATO Trust Fund projects – one recently agreed to help Moldova to destroy dangerous pesticides, and one, completed in 2002, which helped to safely destroy some 11,000 anti-personnel and 250 cubic meters of highly dangerous rocket fuel. The Deputy Secretary told reporters that NATO’s position on the Transdniestria issue had not changed. He said that Allies insist on the implementation of the commitments that Russia signed up to at the 1999 Istanbul Summit of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), including a withdrawal of Russian forces and equipment from Transdniestria.