MOLDOVA: GUUAM SUMMIT BRINGING TOGETHER GEORGIA UKRAINE UZBEKISTAN, AZERBAIJAN AND MOLDOVA OPENS IN CHISINAU
Record ID:
643512
MOLDOVA: GUUAM SUMMIT BRINGING TOGETHER GEORGIA UKRAINE UZBEKISTAN, AZERBAIJAN AND MOLDOVA OPENS IN CHISINAU
- Title: MOLDOVA: GUUAM SUMMIT BRINGING TOGETHER GEORGIA UKRAINE UZBEKISTAN, AZERBAIJAN AND MOLDOVA OPENS IN CHISINAU
- Date: 23rd April 2005
- Summary: (EU) CHISINAU, MOLDOVA (APRIL 22, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. SLV DOWNTOWN CHISINAU, CAPITAL OF MOLDOVA 0.05 2. WIDE OF VENUE FOR GUAAM SUMMIT; FLAG WITH GUUAM LOGO; LEADERS ARRIVING AT SUMMIT VENUE 3. MEETINGS; WIDE OF MEETING 0.50 4. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) ROMANIAN PRESIDENT TRAIAN BASESCU SAYING "It is completely wrong to have dealings of any sort with Smirnov's illegal regime without reference to Moldova's constitution and European principles." 1.12 5. WIDE OF MEDIA WITH BASESCU 1.16 6. MV UKRAINE PRESIDENT VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO SIGNING ONE OF THE DECLARATIONS AT END OF MEETING; MV MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR VORONIN, SIGNING ONE OF THE DECLARATIONS; WIDE OF THE HALL 1.33 7. SOUNDBITE (Georgian) MIKHAIL SAAKASHVILI, GEORGIAN PRESIDENT, SAYING IN RUSSIAN: "We are dealing with a new wave of revolutions, of political transformations which repeat many events of the velvet revolutions of the end of the 1980s, the Prague spring, the fall of the Berlin wall, but this wave now extends to the remaining parts of Europe that were unable to take part in the first wave." 2.12 9. SOUNDBITE (Russian) VICTOR YUSHCHENKO SAYING: "Today we have witnessed the turning of a new page in the history of GUUAM. I believe it is very important that the outcome confirmed a coincidence of views among all participants on the prospects for GUUAM's future development." 2.38 10. SOUNDBITE (Russian) VICTOR YUSHCHENKO SAYING: "Today we have witnessed the turning of a new page in the history of GUUAM. I believe it is very important that the outcome confirmed a coincidence of views among all participants on the prospects for GUUAM's future development." 2.38 11. WIDE OF GUUAM LEADERS IN FAMILY PHOTO; LEADERS LEAVING 3.10 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 8th May 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: CHISINAU, MOLDOVA
- Country: Moldova
- Reuters ID: LVA1C85NLXBYDY8JT7XVQQR88N0D
- Story Text: GUUAM summit, bringing together Georgia, Ukraine,
Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova opens in Chisinau.
Four ex-Soviet states newly committed to integration
with the West agreed on Friday (April 22, 2005) to form an
alliance as they ease their way out of Russia's orbit.
The leaders of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Azerbaijan
agreed to form a "union of democratic states", but a senior
Russian politician denounced the grouping as an attempt to
spread the "Orange Revolution" that brought Ukraine's
pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko to power.
The initiative was spearheaded by the leaders of
Ukraine and Georgia, who have wary relations with big
neighbour Russia and both were brought to power by peaceful
revolutions against electoral fraud in the last two years.
Moscow also clashed with Washington this week after
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Belarus was
central Europe's "last true dictatorship" and ripe for a
change.
The meeting to breathe new life into the moribund GUUAM
organisation took place in the capital of ex-Soviet
Moldova, whose ties with Moscow have cooled in recent
months.
GUUAM, standing for Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,
Azerbaijan, Moldova, was originally set up to boost
economic and transport links but was long overshadowed by
the Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS).
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko hailed the
gathering on Friday as a new and an historic opportunity.
"Today we have witnessed the turning of a new page in
the history of GUUAM. I believe it is very important that
the outcome confirmed a coincidence of views among all
participants on the prospects for GUUAM's future
development," said Yushchenko.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili praised the
"historic meeting" as a chance to work towards the common
aim of integrating with the West.
Ukraine and Georgia want to join NATO and, along with
Moldova's Communist President Vladimir Voronin, also aspire
to membership of the European Union.
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Romanian
President Traian Basescu joined Friday's gathering.
Romania is a NATO member while Lithuania is a member of
both NATO and the European Union. They are seen as role
models by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
The rejuvenated group turned most of its attention to
solving "frozen" separatist conflicts dogging their
countries and which some blame Moscow for prolonging.
"It is completely wrong to have dealings of any sort
with Smirnov's illegal regime without reference to
Moldova's constitution and European principles", Romanian
Prime Minister Traian Basescu said, referring to the
separatist Trans Dniestr region of Moldova, where Russian
speaking separatists are seeking independence.
Some leaders also backed U.S. calls for change in
Belarus, where Western countries accuse President Alexander
Lukashenko of cracking down on opponents and stifling
independent media.
"We are dealing with a new wave of revolutions, of
political transformations which repeats many events of the
velvet revolutions of the end of the 1980s -- the Prague
spring, the fall of the Berlin wall, but this wave now
extends to the remaining parts of Europe that were unable
to take part in the first wave", Saakashvili said.
ENDS
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None