Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called upon the European Union Friday in Luxembourg to play an active role in ending the crises in Moldova, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Speaking after a meeting with E.U. politicians, Lavrov said the bloc should suggest any "new ideas" it had to release tensions in the Trans-Dniestr and Georgian conflicts. "Russia is ready to cooperate and deal with E.U. representatives if they have been assigned to solve these conflicts, just as we already cooperate with E.U. representatives in the Trans-Caucusian region," Lavrov said. Trans-Dniestr is a region on the Ukrainian border that split from neighbouring Moldova, and both Abkhazia and South Ossetia split from Georgia. None of the three regions is internationally recognized as an independent state. "We are still convinced that the situation in Trans-Dniestr can only be solved through a federal and demilitarized Moldova. If our friends in the E.U. have other ideas or visions, we would be glad to put them to the test," Lavrov said. Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg, current holder of the E.U. presidency, and E.U. External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner echoed Lavrov's remarks that "huge" progress had been made in attempts to reach a consensus on the basis for future cooperation ahead of the next E.U.-Russia summit in Moscow on March 10. --SP 2154 Local Time 1854 GMT
