On April 11, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and Igor Smirnov, the leader of Moldova's secessionist province of Transdniestria, held their first face-to-face meeting since 2001, restarting reunification talks that had been stalled since 2006. Moldova — sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania — is the poorest state in Europe. Transdniestria, the eastern sliver of the country along the Ukrainian border, is mainly populated by ethnic Russians and Ukrainians and is Moldova's industrial center. Without Transdniestria, Moldova would be destitute, left with an almost completely agrarian economy that has struggled since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Transdniestria declared its independence in 1993 after a brief war and continues to exist as a self-proclaimed republic with the strong support of Russia . Since 2003, the small enclave has been subject to economic measures from Moldova that have amounted to a blockade.