Transnistrian Conflict on October 26 – November 7, 2005

After a pause of 15 months, on 27–28 October the Transnistrian conflict resolution talks were resumed in Chisinau and Tiraspol. For the first time the talks took place in an enlarged format — the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides and the representatives of the mediators on behalf of the OSCE, the Russian Federation and Ukraine were joined by representatives of the US and the EU as observers.

The following key issues were tackled during the talks and in the comments made by the participants afterwards:

Organisation of free and fair elections in Transnistria. In the final protocol of the meeting, the participants appeal to the OSCE Chair in Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister, Dmitrii Rupel, to continue consultations with a view to deploying an international electoral mission under the OSCE aegis to make an assessment of the situation and provide recommendations regarding the organisations of democratic elections in Transnistria. The agreement of the parties in this matter was hailed by the participants as a key achievement of the talks. Dmitrii Tkaci, Ukraine representative at the talks, said that following the conclusion of the work of the international mission it will take about 240 days to organise elections in Transnistria. Thus, the elections could take place by the end of 2006. Both the EU and the US representatives saluted the parties’ agreement regarding the organisation of free and fair elections, but said that for such elections to take place, a number of conditions need to be put in place, such as the freedom of the media and political pluralism.

The withdrawal of Russian troops and weapons from Transnistria. According to the participants, this was one of the most debated issues at the negotiations round, on which no agreement was reached. The Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, William Hill, told a press conference after the round that the process of withdrawal was disrupted due to the lack of political will of Russia in this matter and that it would take about six months to conclude the withdrawal. Valeri Nesteruskin, the Russian representative at the talks, said that the withdrawal was stopped due to the disruption of talks between the parties, a statement refuted by the Moldovan Reintegration Minister, Vasile Sova, who said that despite the disruption of official talks, the parties have continued to talk to one another all the time. Minister Sova also said that Moldova intends to propose that the issue of Russian weapons withdrawal is included in the agenda of the December OSCE Ministerial Summit in Ljubliana.

Security and confidence building measures. The sides agreed to start consultations on the package of documents “Control of weapons — confidence and security building measures” prepared by the OSCE in July 2005. This will involve, among other things, the exchange of information between the two sides on their armies and weaponry.

The situation in the security zone. According to the participants, the parties exchanged opinions on the situation in the security zone in the neighbourhood of Dorotkaia village, and on ways to unblock the activity of the Joint Control Commission, but reached no agreement. The Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova expressed regret and said that the OSCE is very worried about the situation in the security zone.

The status of the Transnistrian region. According to the participants in the talks, this subject did not feature on the agenda. Thus, the Transnistrian settlement plan recently proposed by the Russian Federation was never discussed; the talks were led on the basis of the Ukrainian plan which had been accepted earlier by the parties in principle. In his statements for the press, the Russian representative at the talks said that the new Russian plan is intended to supplement the Ukrainian one and that it will be proposed for discussion only when the parties are ready for a “constructive dialogue”. In his turn, Minister Sova stated that the Moldovan side will not examine any settlement initiative that does not draw on the Ukrainian plan and the Law on the Basic Principles of the Status of Eastern Districts of Moldova, adopted by the Moldovan Parliament in July 2005.

The participation for the first time of the US and EU as observers in the negotiations was appreciated by all the participants as having had a positive effect on the round of talks. According to the Ukraine’s representative, the presence of the EU and the US representatives in the room made the parties want to show more than ever that they are ready to reach a compromise.

The participants in the negotiations round have assessed the results thereof as “modest”. The Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, William Hill, said that the talks were difficult because during the 15 months pause in the negotiations a lot of complex issues have accumulated. According to Hill, the main result of the negotiations round of 27–28 October has been the very fact of the resumption of negotiations.

The next negotiations round has been scheduled for 15–16 December.

e-democracy.md

Transnistrian Conflict on October 26 – November 7, 2005

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