Romanian Leader Wins an Emotional Welcome in Sister State of Moldova

Romanian Prime Minister Petre Roman received an emotional welcome in neighboring Soviet Moldova Tuesday and signed an agreement aimed at eventually integrating the rebel republic’s economy with Bucharest.

“This is more than an agreement. Now we must reach out and accomplish more together,” Roman said on arrival for the first visit by a modern Romanian leader to Moldova, where ethnic Romanians make up 64% of the 4.3 million residents.

Most of Moldova, formerly Moldavia, was part of Romania until Moscow incorporated the provinces of Bessarabia and northern Bucovina in 1940 under the terms of a Nazi-Soviet pact.

“This is my first trip to this land to which our hearts are bound forever,” said Roman, fighting back tears as he signed the economic agreement.

Many Romanian parties are agitating for the territory’s return. But Roman’s National Salvation Front government, which took power in the December, 1989, anti-Communist revolution, has ruled out trying to revise the frontier for the time being.

Moldova’s non-Communist nationalist leaders made Romanian the official language in 1989 and proclaimed sovereignty last year to pave the way for independence, provoking a conflict with Russian and other non-Romanian minorities. It is one of six republics holding out against Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s new Union Treaty.