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Transdniestria's Parliamentary Speaker Yevgeny Shevchuk, 39, met with his Moldovan counterpart at the EU in Brussels, Belgium

BRUSSELS (Tiraspol Times) - The Speakers of Moldova's and Transdniestria's Parliaments had to travel to Brussels, Belgium, for their first-ever personal face to face meeting.

On Wednesday, Moldova's Marian Lupu and Transdniestria's Yevgeny Shevchuk, a native born Transdniestrian of Ukrainian descent, sat down for meeting in Brussels to discuss issues dividing the two states. The event was organized by EU Special Representative for Moldova and Transdniestria, Kalman Mizsei, who attended the meeting alongside other European officials.

" - The parliament speakers had their first meeting in Brussels over the past seven years," EU special representative Kalman Mizsei was quoted by the wire service Itar-Tass as saying.

Transdniestria (officially: Pridnestrovie) declared independence in 1990, one year earlier than Moldova. Although it is not a historical or ethnic part of Moldova, the neighboring state maintains a territorial claim to Transdniestria. This 18 year old unrealized claim has prevented Transdniestria from obtaining international recognition of its statehood even though it currently meets all the requirements for statehood under international law.

Marian Lupu, Moldova's Parliament Speaker. He had never met Shevchuk before.

Both Parliamentary Speakers were in the Belgian capital to take part in a roundtable meeting aimed at curbing trafficking in human beings. Entitled “Combating Trafficking in Human Beings: Cooperation between Parliaments and NGOs, the situation on both banks of the Dniester,” it was held in Brussels on May 14. The event was organized by the European Parliament’s Delegation for Moldova and the EU Special Representative in cooperation with the British Embassy in Chisinau.

EU conference on 'de facto' states

Following his Wednesday meeting with Lupu, Yevgeny Shevchuk is also expected at another conference held at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday, May 15.

The event is called “Opening the World Order to de facto States: Limits and Potentialities of de facto States in the International Context” and is hosted by the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. It is organized by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, UNPO and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.

Along with leading European experts on statehood and nation building, high-level representatives from a number of de facto independent countries have also been invited. They include Transdniestria, Abkhazia, Somaliland, Northern Cyprus and Taiwan.

See also:
» European Parliament conference on Transnistria; other 'de facto' states [1]
» Divorce with Moldova should be formalized, says PMR Speaker [2]