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Transnistrian Conflict on June 15–30, 2006

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EU, Ukraine will continue efforts aimed at Transnistrian conflict settlement

During his visit to Brussels on 21–22 June, President Voronin had a meeting with the EU High Commission for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, during which the two also discussed the Transnistrian issue. According to a presidential press communique, Solana reconfirmed EU readiness to contribute to the identification of a political solution to the Transnistrian issue. Taking the opportunity, President Voronin thanked the high European official for the efforts made towards a settlement of the conflict and praised the results of the EU Border Assistance Mission.

During the same period, Boris Tarasiuk, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, visited Chisinau, where he discussed with Moldovan officials bilateral cooperation, including in settling the Transnistrian conflict. At a press conference on 26 June, Tarasiuk assured Moldova hosts that Ukraine’s position on Transnistria or on the monitoring of the Ukrainian — Moldovan border will not change after the new Ukrainian Government is formed.

Tarasiuk accused Russia and the Transnistrian authorities of blocking the negotiations process, but said Ukraine hopes to find the necessary arguments to bring all the participants in the political talks back to the negotiations table, maybe even by July or August this year.

Asked about Ukraine’s reaction to a possible independence referendum in Transnistria, the chief Ukrainian diplomat said the results of the referendum will not be recognised by Ukraine, as they will not be recognised by the OSCE and the EU. Tarasiuk ruled out any parallels between the situation in Montenegro and eventually Kosovo and Transnistria. “In our case, there are absolutely no legal foundations to raise the question of independence of Transnistria”, he said.

Moldovan policemen detained in Tiraspol

On 14 June four policemen of the Bender Police Commissariat and one employee of the Moldovan Ministry of Interior were detained by Transnistrian security services in Tiraspol without putting any reasons forward.

The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration called the incident a provocation from the break away secessionist regime. According to the MFAEI, at the moment of detention, the Moldovan policemen were in Tiraspol on for business and personal reasons.

Three of the five policemen were released on 17 June without any explanation. Moldovan Interior Minister, Gheorghe Papuc, was quoted by Infotag as saying that the three were tortured and administered psychotropic medication by the transnistrians.

The other two policemen were released on 26 June. According to sources from the Moldovan Reintegration Ministry, quoted by Info Prim Neo, the release was possible due to the intervention of the Russian Federation.

After the incident, the head of the Transnistrian security services, Vladimir Antiufeev, told the press the Moldovan journalists were in Tiraspol to kidnap Ivan Burgudgi to prevent him from running in the Baskan election in Gagauzia scheduled for end of 2006. Antiufeev said that although the Moldovan policemen were released, the criminal investigations against them will continue. He threatened that should Moldovan authorities’ “criminal intentions” on Transnistrian soil continue, “we will use our weapons, including to kill”.

Russian governmental delegation visits Tiraspol

On 21–22 June, a Russian inter-departmental delegation paid an official visit to Tiraspol. The delegation was led by the deputy Chairman of Russian Cabinet, Ghenadi Bukarev and consisted of representatives of the Russian Security Council, Foreign Ministry, Social Development Ministry, Pension Fund etc. According to Regnum.ru, which quotes sources from the Transnistrian information department, the aim of the visit was to develop the common protocol signed by Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov and Russian First Deputy Premier Alexandr Jukov on 23 May in Moscow.

At the end of the visit the Director of Russian Department for the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Serghei Dontov, said that the main subject discussed during the visit was that of ensuring with pensions and other social benefits the Russian citizens living in Transnistria. According to Dontov, the Russian Government will in the next couple of months adopt a normative act in this sense and ensured his hosts that Transnistrian pensioners will start receiving their Russian pensions by end of 2006.

Asked about the legitimacy of these actions of the Russian Federation in Transnistria, Dontov referred to a Russian Constitutional Court ruling: “The legal status of a territory does not matter. The Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees all Russian citizens, wherever they live, all forms of social assistance”, Regnum.ru reported.

According to data of the population census conducted by the Transnistrian authorities in late 2004 (without the participation of the Moldovan authorities), about 56,000 Russian citizens live presently in Transnistria (about 10% of all population).

FSU unrecognised regimes found “intergovernmental” community

On 14 June in Suhumi, the capital of the break away region of Abhazia, took place the “summit” of the de facto leaders of the unrecognised republics of Abhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria. At the end of the meeting, the break away leaders signed a Common Statement whereby they proclaimed the creation of the “Community for Democracy and Peoples’ Rights”. Qualified by observers as an “anti-GUAM”, the self styled community of the “unrecognised” does not only provide for political and economic cooperation among them, but also envisions the creation of collective peacekeeping forces that could replace the Russian peacekeepers currently deployed in the respective regions.

“Today we showed once more to the entire world our intention to build democratic states. The fact that in any situation one has to take into account the opinion of the people has been confirmed during the press conference in Saint Petersburg by the Russian President Vladimir Putin [which took place after the Russian — Georgian summit on 13 June]. Our people have lived with Russia and will continue to fortify good neighbourhood relations with Russia”, the Abhaz leader, Serghei Bagapsh, told the journalists, quoted by Kavkaz-press, during a joint press conference held at the end of the Suhumi “summit”.

Asked by journalists if the “unrecognised” intend to make use once more of the peoples’ right to self-determination, proclaimed by President Putin during the 13 June press conference, both the Ossetian and Abhaz leaders said their “peoples” have already made their choice in favour of Russia. Only the Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov said that he intends to call for an independence referendum in Transnistria, in September 2006, during which the “Transnistrian people” will be consulted whether it wants to be with Moldova or with Russia, as well as with regard to the negotiations process with Moldova.

It is worth noting that the three “presidents” sighed the final text of their Common Statement after lengthy video talks with Moscow, on the second day after the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin with his Georgian counterpart Mihail Saakashvili. The main subject discussed during the meeting were the “frozen” conflicts in Abhazia and South Ossetia.

According to commentators, the aim of the Suhumi “summit” was in fact to neutralise whichever decision that could have been taken during the Putin — Saakashvili meeting. “Even if Russian and Georgian presidents would have reached an agreement, the unrecognised republics were to declare to the whole world that they will continue their course to independence and create a military block to protect themselves from aggression from neighbour states”, the Russian daily Kommersant.ru wrote commenting on the Suhumi meeting.

May 31 – June 14, 2006 July 1–16, 2006