Former President of Romania Emil Constantinescu made disclosures about the Istanbul Summit of 1999, when Russia pledged to withdraw its troops and munitions from the Transnistrian region. In an international forum in Chisinau, the ex-head of state said the signing of that document by Russia was a present on his birthday by the then Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

“At the summit, in the break after the official meeting, Moldova's President Petru Lucinschi invited me for a private discussion. When Boris Yeltsin and Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov passed by, Petru Lucinschi told them to stop and consider what to do with the troops from Transnistria, and asked Yeltsin if he will sign the document,” Emil Constantinescu said.

He added that Igor Ivanov was against the signing of any documents, but Petru Lucinschi convinced Boris Yeltsin to sign the treaty on the pullout of the Russian troops, arguing it would be a historical act and a present on Emil Constantinescu's birthday that was to be celebrated those days.

Emil Constantinescu was President of Romania in 1996- 2000.