East or West? The Future of Democracy in Moldova

Ambassador Clifford Bond, Senior State Department Advisor with the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, moderated this briefing that focused on the trajectory of democratic institutions in Moldova, as well as the issues that were facing Eastern Europe. What was perhaps foremost on attendees' minds was Russia's invasion of the Republic of Georgia, which exposed the former U.S.S.R.'s expansionist goals and raised questions about Eastern Europe's future and the potential for the European Bloc.

Fortunately for Moldova, the country had made great progress as far as its elections, market freedoms, and negotiations to resolve the situation in Transdniestria were concerned, but Moldova remained a major source and transit country for sex trafficking.