President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Vladimir Nikolayevich, once again I wish you a warm welcome to Sochi. We will talk about our relations today.
I think our trade and economic ties have been developing well of late, and the problems that we had not so long ago have all but vanished now. Our bilateral trade is growing. It has reached an impressive level and there are promising projects for the future. Overall, I think that our cooperation has very good potential.
I will not hide of course that recent events have shown what potential for conflict the so-called frozen conflicts conceal. This has been fully illustrated in South Ossetia’s case, where, after the Georgian leadership ‘went crazy’ one could say, and launched an act of aggression, all of these problems came to a head and resulted in armed conflict. This is a very serious warning to us all and I think that in this context we also need to examine the other problems that exist.
We agreed in St Petersburg to meet and discuss the issue of a settlement for Trans-Dniester. I think there is good reason to do this today. I see good prospects for reaching a settlement in Trans-Dniester. We will talk about the approaches that have been formulated and the possible solutions to the conflict, after which we will be able to arrive at some conclusions of course. I am therefore pleased to welcome you to Sochi and I hope for positive talks.
President of Moldova Vladimir Voronin: Dmitry Anatolyevich, thank you for this invitation, which follows on from the dialogue we began at the Economic Forum in St Petersburg. I agree with you that relations between our countries are showing good and positive development. We have passed the 1-billion mark in bilateral trade turnover.
Dmitry Medvedev: I think we are at 1.4 billion.
Vladimir Voronin: We have laid a foundation and we are already achieving results.
But there are also problems that we need to continue to examine and resolve. Of course we could not ignore the events that have taken place given that we have been in just such a suspended state for the last 17 years on the Trans-Dniester issue. Fortunately, since we came to power in 2001, we have had enough wisdom and restraint not to let the situation escalate, though such attempts have been made. This kind of frozen, dormant conflict is a volcano and you never know what will trigger it and when it might erupt again. Of course, taking into consideration the recent events, it would be best to once again summon our wisdom and ability to ensure that nothing of this kind happens with us. It is my vital interest that we take precisely this road and I thank you for the chance to discuss these issues with you today.
Dmitry Medvedev: We will definitely do this.