Moldovan government backs withdrawal from CIS cultural restitution agreement

Moldova’s government has approved a proposal to withdraw from a CIS agreement on returning cultural and historical valuables to their countries of origin. The proposal will now go to parliament, RIA Novosti reported after the cabinet meeting.

The agreement was signed in Minsk on February 14, 1992. Culture Minister Dan Suruceanu presented the proposal to the cabinet.

Suruceanu said the agreement no longer met the country’s current cultural heritage protection needs and had seen limited practical use. He said Moldova had strengthened domestic mechanisms for protecting, identifying and recovering movable cultural property as it moved closer to the European Union.

Cabinet members unanimously backed the proposal. Following parliamentary approval, the Foreign Ministry is to notify the CIS Executive Committee of the withdrawal.