Moldovan Prime Minister Holds Talks With Breakaway Region's Leader

CHISINAU -- Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca is meeting with the leader of the country's breakaway region of Transdniester, Yevgeny Shevchuk.

The meeting is taking place in Transdniester's capital, Tiraspol.

The talks are expected to focus on expanded Chisinau-Tiraspol relations and an extension of an agreement on freight- and passenger-railway services through the separatist region.

Moscow-backed Transdniester declared independence from Moldova in 1990. The two sides fought a short war in 1992.

No country has recognized Transdniester's independence.

Officials from Moldova, Transdniester, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, Russia, the United States, and Ukraine are expected to gather in Brussels on October 3 for the next round of negotiations on solving the Transdniester issue.

With reporting by Unimedia.md