He was assured in Moscow that the Russian agencies will monitor the observance of Moldova's legislation in the privatisation of Transdnestrian enterprises by Russian investors, he said.
"Russian capital prevails in Moldova's privatisation process. Russian investors have in recent years made heavy investments in a set of enterprises on both banks of the Dniester river", he said.
The Moldovan government has many times voiced its position on privatisation in Transdnestria (industrialised left-bank territory with mostly Russian-speaking population; in the 1990s it declared independence from Cisinau) - privatisation cannot be regarded legitimate if uncoordinated with the internationally recognised authorities of the republic of Moldova.
"Investors into enterprises on the left bank (of the Dniester) without coordination with Cisinau will face great disillusionment", Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin said in its time.
Meanwhile, Russia and Moldova are for the earliest settlement of the problem of Transdnestria, the Russian and Moldovan foreign ministers said at the joint press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
"We have discussed the question of Transdnestrian settlement. We have stressed the need of looking for solutions within the framework of preserving Moldova's territorial integrity also in agreeing upon the guaranteed status for Transdnestria in the context of continuation, I'd even say reinvigoration, of the five-lateral format of the talks", Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov said. He stressed that the negotiating process should be carried on "in such a mode as to guarantee the agreements reached".
The five-lateral format intends the involvement of Moldova, Transdnestria, Russia, Ukraine and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
For his part, Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan said that the Moldovan side hopes "for the earliest adoption of an acceptable solution for the Transdnestrian settlement". He noted that in consideration in Moscow was the initiative of Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin on the conclusion of "a pact on stability and security for Moldova". "We are awaiting an answer from the Russian side", Stratan said.
Sergei Lavrov noted that Russia positively assesses this initiative. "We believe that 'the pact of stability and security for Moldova' fits in the negotiating process on the Transdnestrian settlement", the Russian foreign minister said.
