Transnistrian Conflict on April 26 – May 9, 2004

Transnistria Political Settlement: the five-sided talks resumed on 27 April

The five-sided political talks on the Transnistrian issue were resumed on 27 April after a five-month pause. The talks joined representatives of the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides and those of the three mediators — the OSCE, Russia and Ukraine. The Transnistrian side, which had announced earlier that it would present to the meeting its proposals on the settlement plan drafted by the mediators under the OSCE aegis last year, proposed to the Moldovan side to sign a joint statement “On the approval by the peoples of the Republic of Moldova and of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic of the creation of the federal state between the Republic of Moldova and the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic”. The statement provides for the organisation of separate referendums in Moldova and Transnistria, by the model of the Cyprus referendum, whereby the “peoples of Moldova and Transnistria”, according to principles of self-determination, would either approve or disapprove of creating a common, federal state. Should the vote be positive, then a Constitutional Assembly would be created to draft a Constitution. The future federal state will consist of two equal federal subjects, free to leave the federation at any time, with federal bodies made up of representatives of the two subjects on a proportional basis, and with all rights of ownership being recognised and protected.

William Hill, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova commented on the results of the meeting by saying that the two sides remain on divergent positions, but expressed hope that these might be reconciled. Given that this was the first round of talks this year, the participants did not adopt any decision, save for an agreement to meet on a monthly basis henceforth. The next meeting was provisionally scheduled for the w/c 24 May.

The Moldovan authorities have not made any official comments yet on the contents of the Transnistrian proposal, but only said that it goes beyond the current framework of talks and hence needs to be considered separately.

The Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov, on the other hand, told the Transnistrian TV on 28 April that the Transnistrian proposal should be regarded as a step forward in the negotiations process and a way of salvaging the negations from the deadlock to which these had been brought by the Moldovan side after its failure to sign the Kozak Memorandum last November.

At the same time, during a media-briefing on 5 May in Tiraspol, the Transnistrian “foreign affairs minister” Valerii Litskai told the press that despite the resumption of talks, it is very unlikely that the two sides will reach any significant agreements in the near future. He announced that the “Supreme Soviet” of Transnistria has yet to consider, within currently ongoing debates on Transnistria’s foreign policy concept, whether to continue the reunification efforts or insist on a “civilised divorce” with the rest of Moldova.

These developments mark an important, although not unexpected turn of events in the process of the Transnistrian conflict resolution. Transnistria’s proposal looks even more unacceptable to the Moldovan side than the Kozak Memorandum and there is little, if any, chance the parties can reach a compromise on it. Transnistria is receiving ever greater support from Russia, which, it seems, is determined to promote the Kozak Memorandum as the basic document for talks on the structure of the future federal state. While the Presidents of Russia and Moldova have not talked to each other for more than five months, the Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov is a regular guest in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, where he has received lately a number of civic and religious awards. Russia’s support to and involvement in Transnistria is growing beyond these symbolic ties to expanding financial control of the region with reportedly about 60% of privatised assets in Transnistria being owned by Russian firms.

This asymmetry in the Moldovan-Transnistrian relations may only be balanced by a timely and adequate support to the Moldovan side by the European powers, in particular the European Union. Last week the Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan told the press that the currently being drafted Moldova-EU Individual Action Plan would include a special compartment on Transnistria, including provisions on the deployment of international peacekeepers to the region. At the same time, the German Bundestag has adopted a Motion on Moldova which calls for the enforcement of German and European efforts at solving the Transnistrian conflict and reintegrating the country. The question that remains is whether this time the Moldovan leadership will find the will and vision to pursue a genuinely European course in its reintegration policy, as in all its policies.

e-democracy.md

Transnistrian Conflict on April 26 – May 9, 2004

Transnistria Political Settlement: the five-sided talks resumed on 27 April

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