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MoldovaRomania
The relationship between Moldova and Romania, while
generally
good, is far from trouble free. Although Romania was the
first
state to recognize Moldova and has provided substantial
support
to the new republic in relation to Bucharest's means, ties
between the two Romanian-speaking states are fraught with
political difficulties for both countries.
The relationship between Romania and Moldova began to
deteriorate shortly after Moldova's independence. Because
of
their different histories, with Moldova part of the
Russian
Empire and later the Soviet Union, Moldovans and Romanians
have
different attitudes about basic social and political
issues, such
as the extent of social payments (i.e. welfare). Many
Romanians
see the Moldovans as "Russified" and hold the
condescending view
that they are in need of assistance to overcome their
cultural
disabilities. This has been a source of growing resentment
among
the majority of Moldovans.
For his part, Romania's president, Ion Iliescu, worked
consistently to maintain a positive relationship with
Russia. On
the one hand, moves on his part that could be seen as
destabilizing the interethnic balance in Moldova and
tipping it
toward civil war would be potentially disastrous for his
country,
both in the limited sense of setting back Russian-Romanian
relations and in the more serious sense of potentially
drawing
Russia into a regional conflict. On the other hand, any
precipitous move on the part of Moldova in the direction
of
Romania would immediately raise fears of imminent
unification
with Romania among the Russian-speaking population and
among the
Gagauz and would feed interethnic hostility in the
republic. The
March 6, 1994, referendum confirmed to all interested
parties, in
no uncertain terms, that the populace of Moldova is not in
favor
of reuniting with any country.
In late 1994, President Iliescu made comments
questioning
Moldova's independent status. Although relations between
the two
countries remain cordial, these comments reflected the
Romanian
nationalistic parties' greater influence in national
politics and
in the parliament.
Data as of June 1995
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