January 16 (SeeNews) - Romania will fully cooperate with neighbouring Moldova again only if the government in Chisinau brings the country back on the European track, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday.
"We will resume full cooperation [with Moldova] only when we see, at government level, concrete action aimed at moving along the European path and making progress with the reform process, especially in areas such as justice, administration and the fight against corruption, which can guarantee a democratic development and predictability internally and externally," Iohannis said in a televised press conference.
According to Iohannis, Romania is not at all convinced the current government in Chisinau wishes to keep the country on the European path.
"Therefore, we will back only projects that are dedicated directly to citizens, projects with a local impact and strategic interconnection projects," the president added.
On Monday, Vlad Plahotniuc, the fugitive ex-leader of Moldova's former governing Democrat Party (PDM) and his family were prohibited from entering the United States due to his 'involvement in significant corruption', the State Department said.
The interdiction also applies to Plahotniuc's immediate family members, namely his wife, Oxana Childescu; his son, Timofei Plahotniuc; and his other minor child.
Plahotniuc is facing charges for his involvement in a money laundering case, Moldova’s anti-corruption prosecutors said last year. The case is related to a massive fraud discovered in 2014, when about $1 billion (899 million euro) went missing from three of the country's private banks.The banks - Banca de Economii, Banca Sociala and Unibank - collapsed and were liquidated.
Plahotniuc left Moldova in June after PDM was ousted from power by a coalition comprising pro-European ACUM bloc and president Igor Dodon's pro-Russian Socialist Party (PSRM).
In November, the coalition collapsed in a no-confidence vote and a new technocrat government backed in parliament by PDM and PSRM was put into office.
($=0.8961 euro)