The French, German, Polish and Russian foreign ministers on June 23 backed the Russo-German proposal for a joint EU-Russian security committee that will be called the EU-Russia Political and Security Committee. The ministers met at the Weimar Triangle gathering, which the French, German and Polish foreign ministers started in 1991, but abandoned in recent years. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said France, Germany and Poland "should propose (the idea) together, which must obviously be accepted by the European Union." The proposal for the security committee is a product of the June 4-5 meeting of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. It is also rooted in Russia's early attempts to get the Europeans on board with its European Security Treaty, which was initially proposed in June 2008 and subsequently discussed in various forums, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Germany promoted the idea of the EU-Russia security committee to its two key European partners, Poland and France, before the proposal is submitted to the rest of the bloc. For Paris, any independent moves Berlin makes to get closer to Moscow could be seen as undermining the Franco-German security/economic relationship that has underpinned the European Union for the last 60 years. For Poland, a closer German-Russian security relationship is the ultimate nightmare, as it would leave it (yet again) isolated between the two more powerful historical rivals. Berlin's imperative to first consult with Warsaw and Paris illustrates Germany's wish to ensure the proposal does not threaten France or Poland. Poland not only attended, but has granted initial approval. At their meeting in early June, Merkel and Medvedev agreed to try boosting EU-Russian cooperation to the ministerial level. The Transdniestria conflict in Moldova was mentioned specifically as an example of how to develop the EU-Russian security relationship. It is significant that the proposal points to the Transdniestria issue as a potential first avenue of cooperation for the emerging EU-Russia Political and Security Committee. Moldova sits at a geopolitically significant location between the Carpathian Mountains and the Black Sea, the Bessarabian Gap. That region has played a role in military movements, communication and transportation between Russia and southeastern Europe for centuries. Transdniestria is a de facto, independent entity east of the Dniestr River that essentially broke away from Moldova after a brief civil war in 1992. Although Moldova has recently oriented itself toward Europe, Russia supports Transdniestria and has troops stationed there both to keep its forces in the Bessarabian Gap and to separate Moldova from the West. By suggesting Transdniestria is a potential first example of EU-Russian security cooperation, Berlin is attempting to force Moscow to move beyond rhetoric on the security relationship. If Germany can get Russia to cooperate on Transdniestria, it would show all concerned that Berlin can deliver what each side wants. From the European perspective, if Germany can get the European Union involved in Transdniestria and get Moldova integrated into the West, it will show that Berlin has managed to fully seal off the southern European flank from direct Russian access. This would establish Germany's credentials in security matters and show skeptical Europeans that Berlin can be a leader in geopolitics. From Russia's perspective, if Germany can get the rest of Europe to hear out Russia's ideas for a new security architecture for the Continent that involves Moscow, then cooperating on the Transdniestria issue is worth it. And from Germany's viewpoint, if Russia refuses to be flexible on Transdniestria and this causes France and Central Europe — particularly Poland and Romania — to sour on the idea of an EU-Russian security relationship, then it is the rest of the union that denied Moscow access to European security architecture, not Berlin. This would allow Germany to continue to have a solid relationship with Russia despite failures of the EU-Russia security dialogue. Initial statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following the June 23 meeting indicate that Russia is willing to talk about Transdniestria and even possibly allow EU peacekeepers in the region. It is a sign that Russia is willing to consider giving Germany an example of cooperation with which to rally the rest of Europe to the idea of an EU-Russia security relationship.