Communist M.P. says Romania does not recognize Moldovan identity

Grigori Petrenco, a Party of Communists M.P. in the new Parliament and former deputy Speaker, told Puls that the main reason why Chisinau and Bucharest have difficult ties is Romania's refusal to recognize Moldovan identity.

Mr. Petrenco stressed that the "crisis in our ties with Bucharest will end when they realize that Moldova is not a second Romanian state."

The Communist M.P. is probably referring to Romanian President Traian Basescu's frequent public arguments that Romania and Moldova are "two countries, but one nation."

The identity problem in Moldova is, unsurprisingly, extremely complicated, and cannot be explained fully here. Charles King's The Moldovans includes a good summary of the main conflicts and disagreements in Moldova over what it means to be Moldovan or Romanian.

h/t www.actualpress.md