Romanian President Traian Basescu criticized the interpretation of international treaties such as the that of Conventional Forces in Europe during a speech held at a GUAM summit in Baku on Tuesday. He also mentioned the need that Russian troops be withdrawn from the Moldovan Republic and Georgia, a withdrawal that he said should have occurred in 1999.

Romania backed the CFE treaty, Basescu says, but argues that it must be related to Russia’s compliance with its promises at an Istanbul summit last decade, regarding the withdrawal of Russian troups from Moldova.

Russian authorities have been warning that they may reconsider Moscow’s involvement with the CFE treaty given the current United States plans for a missile shield in Europe.

Basescu said in Baku that an arms control system should be in place, based on transparency and predictability and unrelated to negotiations on other issues of regional and international security.

And he said Romania was deeply interested in solutions to the frozen conflicts of the Black Sea and Caucasus regions. The solutions are needed for the economic development and the strengthening of democracy in GUAM states, he said.

GUAM countries are Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and the Moldovan Republic.

Also on Tuesday, Basescu said that the four GUAM countries may become an alternative for securing the energy independence of EU member states.