Moldovian President Vladimir Voronin has been refused entry to the separatist region of Trans Dniesteria. The president was on the way to a church consecration in his home village of Corjova in the overwhelmingly Russian-speaking region when he was turned back at the border. Moldova's news agency is reporting that border guards, citing orders from Igor Smirnov, self-styled leader of the breakaway region, said President Voronin was banned from Corjova. Reconciliation between Moldova and Trans Dniesteria appears to be as far away as ever.
In April, the Moldovan leader held talks with Mr Smirnov for the first time in seven years but the meeting failed to produce any results and attempts to hold a second round of talks have failed. Trans Dniesteria broke away from Moldova - then part of the Soviet Union - in 1990, claiming that the republic's
Romanian-speaking majority would one day choose to unite with their ethnic kin in Romania.
Source: RNW
