Merkel to discuss breakaway region on Moldova visit

(BERLIN) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Moldova next week for talks on reform efforts and Chisinau's simmering dispute with the breakaway Transdniestr region, her spokesman said Wednesday.

"The occasion for the visit is the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Germany and Moldova," Steffen Seibert said, announcing the August 22 visit and talks with Prime Minister Vlat Filat.

"The talks will cover bilateral relations, the state of reform efforts in Moldova and the development of the region as well as progress in the Transdniestr conflict."

Merkel will also meet President Nicolae Timofti and other senior officials and deliver a speech to MPs.

Mainly Russian-speaking Transdniestr broke from predominantly Romanian-speaking Moldova in 1991 as the latter split from the crumbling Soviet Union, with a 1991-1992 armed conflict costing some 700 lives.

The sliver of territory along the River Dniestr has over 550,000 residents, and Russian peacekeepers have been stationed there since July 1992.

It has never achieved international recognition and remained largely lawless, becoming a security worry for Europe due to its porous borders and heavy presence of arms.

Moldova, sandwiched between Romania and ex-Soviet Ukraine, has a population of some four million people. The Transdniestr conflict has been a hurdle to its efforts to join the EU.

The visit comes during a busy period for Merkel as she resumes work after her summer holidays, with the eurozone crisis expected to return with a vengeance in the coming weeks.

She will hold talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Berlin on August 24 ahead of a pivotal creditors' report on the debt-mired country.