Moldova's future lies with EU: PM

(BRUSSELS) - Moldova's future lies squarely with the European Union, whatever Russia may say, because it will help drive essential domestic economic and political reforms, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said Thursday.

In Brussels to sign an association accord Friday which could ultimately lead to EU membership, Leanca said there was "no second, no third option to integration with Europe, there is no alternative."

The government was trying to overcome "strong resistance" to change but if Moldova was to gain EU candidate status, then reform "is really possible" as it moves to adopt EU standards, he told a seminar in Brussels.

The association accord and a linked free trade deal were in Moldova's interest and "also in the interest of our neighbours," in helping ensure a predictable and stable environment, he said.

Asked about Russian curbs on Moldovan exports, especially on wine, which Moscow imposed in a bid to scuttle the accord, the prime minister said there had been talks with Russia to ease its concerns.

"We need to look for solutions, for compromise," Leanca said, adding that Moldova, mindful of the Ukraine crisis, had been careful not to "give a pretext to anyone."

Moldova will be joined Friday by Georgia and Ukraine in signing association and free trade accords with the EU which Moscow says directly threaten its interests in former Soviet-era states.

In the run-up, there have been tensions in Moldova's Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transdniestr, the strip of land wedged between the Dniestr river and the border with Ukraine.

The region declared independence from Moldova in 1990. It has not been recognised by any state but Deputy Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin recently visited it.

Leanca said that while it was unlikely there could be any breakthrough on Transdniestr before Moldova elections at the end of the year, contacts meant "we were able to avoid decisions that would have escalated the situation."

"This is good," he said, adding that Moldova hoped the economic advantages of closer ties with the EU would be clear and help ease tensions with Transdniestr.