ACTING MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT SAYS WILL NOT ATTEND MOSCOW VICTORY DAY CELEBRATIONS – PAPER
RIA Novosti
April 25
MOSCOW
The acting Moldovan President Mihai Ghimpu said he will not come
to Moscow for this year’s Victory Day celebrations as he does not
associate himself with the winning side of World War II, a Russian
respected daily said on Monday.
Russia will mark the 65th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany
on May 9 with its biggest ever post-Soviet demonstration of military
hardware. This year is the first time that troops from other countries
will take part in the parade.
Kommersant daily said Ghumpu had previously accepted an invitation
from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and said he would find time
to participate in the events. But he changed his mind at the end
of last week, despite concerns from other members of the Moldovan
ruling coalition.
"I have no ties with Moscow. Only the victorious are going, what
will the defeated do there?" he said on Moldovan TV, adding that
participation of Moldovan troops in the parade would be enough.
Ghumpu has also said that the 70 Moldovan guards of honor due to
take part in the parade are used to marching on asphalt rather than
pavement, and so might lag behind the other columns or even faint if
they took part in the parade.
Russia has so far dismissed concerns by the Moldova’s Finance Ministry
that the country cannot afford to participate due to a shortage
of funds.
"They were talking about sending a delegation of eight people,
including four war veterans," a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry
earlier told Kommersant. "Russia is preparted to pay for all travel,
accommodation and eating expenses."
A source in the Moldovan government told Kommersant the economic
situation was only an excuse and Ghimpu’s hesitation was due to the
Moldovan government’s policy of improving ties with Romania, which
has not been invited to the celebrations because of its cooperation
with Nazi Germany during World War II.
Moldova and Romania signed on March 29 an agreement on air force
cooperation and discussed the future development of bilateral military
contacts.
A source in Moldova’s ruling alliance said that by "demonstrating his
principles and inflexibility in the face of the all-powerful Kremlin,
Ghimpu has become a hero of the nationalist electorate."
It said Ghimpu would attend an informal Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) Summit in Moscow on May 8 and then return to Chisinau.
During the summit, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and Ukraine are expected to address World War II veterans
and workers of the home front.
Some experts say that Ghimpu also has personal motives for not
attending. His family home was confiscated shortly after the war and
his two bothers and father were deported to Siberia.
"I can not forget the misery, deportation and hunger citizens of the
Republic of Moldova went through in the Soviet Union," Ghimpu has said.
Experts said whatever the motives, Ghimpu’s refusal will not do
Moldova any good. Russia can easily block recently recovered exports of
Moldovan wines to Russia or impose tougher sanctions against Moldovan
guest workers.
Other countries to have confirmed their leaders’ participation in the
victory celebrations include Armenia, France, Kazakhstan, Latvia,
Germany, Serbia, Ukraine and Vietnam. Some sources said that late
Polish President Lech Kaczynski confirmed his participation shortly
before he died in a plane crash in western Russia on April 10.