At a news conference Sunday in Chisinau with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, Moldova's Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman spoke about keeping communication lines open between both Kyiv and Moscow:
"The fact that the Moldovan government recognizes the authorities in Kyiv means that we keep a permanent dialogue with our Ukrainian partners, but very important -- all controversial subjects are also discussed with out Russian partners, in a long lasting and constructive dialogue."
16:1930.3.2014
More from Victoria Nuland's visit Sunday to the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, as reported by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service:
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said Sunday that Washington will give $10 million to Chisinau to support the country's "border security efforts." Nuland made the comments after meeting with Moldovan Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman in Chisinau.
She earlier met with Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and President Nicolae Timofti.
Nuland said the United States looks forward to "all Moldovans -- including those in [Transdniester] and [Gagauzia]" benefitting from visa-free travel to Europe.
NATO has warned that Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region could be Russia's next target after annexing Ukraine's Crimea region.
16:1530.3.2014
More from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking about U.S. and EU sanctions against targeted Russian officials on Russia's Channel One:
"We know for a fact that diplomats from the European Union countries and from the U.S. here in Moscow are instructed not to attend events where people from the sanctions list will appear. It totally contradicts the tasks that diplomacy needs to solve. Diplomacy is the art of talking and reaching agreements."
15:3630.3.2014
ITAR-TASS reports that about 4,000 people rallied on Sunday in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, to demand autonomy for eight eastern regions.
15:2330.3.2014
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt also points to story in "The Daily Beast" we included here earlier today:
15:2130.3.2014
15:1430.3.2014
From our news desk, via RFE/RL's Moldovan Service:
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland has met with Moldovan Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman in Chisinau. The meeting Sunday comes after NATO's top commander warned the small Eastern European country could be Russia's next target after annexing the Ukrainian region of Crimea.
Last week, NATO's top military official, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, warned of a possible Russian incursion across Ukraine to occupy Transdniester. Mainly Russian-speaking Transdniester declared independence from Chisinau in 1990 over fears that Romanian-speaking Moldova might seek reunification with neighboring Romania.
The two sides fought a brief war in 1992 that ended when the Russian military intervened on the side of Transdniester. Russia still has some 1,400 troops in Transdniester.
15:1230.3.2014
In Sevastopol, Crimea, video purportedly shows students walking off in protest when the Russian flag is raised atop a university building:
