Alegerile parlamentare din 2021 în Republica Moldova - alegeri.md
 Monitoring→Politics→Transnistrian Conflict

Transnistrian Conflict on October 16–31, 2006

|print version|mail| e-journal #83 |

European Parliament resolution on Moldova (Transnistria)

The European Parliament adopted on 26 October a Resolution on Moldova (Transnistria), in which it condemns the attempts by the Transnistrian authorities to unilaterally proclaim their independence by organising a so-called referendum on independence. The resolution calls upon the Russian Federation to fulfil its commitments assumed in 1999 in Istanbul to withdraw its troops and weapons from Moldovan soil. Furthermore, the European forum states that it does not recognise the organisation or the results of the “independence referendum” of Transnistria, as it runs counter to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Moldova. In addition, the European MPs call upon the sides to return to the “5+2” negotiations format and to refrain from actions that would escalate the situation. The resolution calls upon the EU institutions to continue supporting efforts aimed at solving conflicts in the neighbourhood shared with Russia and suggests that unresolved conflicts be discussed during future EU meetings with the Russian president and Government.

At the same time, the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, declared during his recent visit to Ukraine that he regretted the fact that negotiations on Transnistria were not proceeding. Solana assured though that, according to the discussions he had had in Ukraine, the latter will not modify the customs regime currently being applied at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border and will stick to its agreements with the EU and Moldova.

Odessa consultations held to unblock “5+2” talks

The Odessa 17–18 October consultations of the mediators and observers with the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides ended without an agreement being reached on resuming the “5+2” talks. According to participants in consultations, the reason for this has been the lack of agreement among participants regarding the so-called “transition protocol”, a document proposed by the Transnistrian side and meant to grant Transnistria the right to conduct independent foreign economic activity for a definite period.

The Moldovan side is fiercely opposed to signing the proposed protocol in a bid to preserve control of economic activity at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. Moldovan Reintegration Minister, Vasile Sova, stated that “it is not necessary to sign any «transition protocols», as there is no point in changing something that works well”. Sova gave assurances that next year Transnistrian economic agents will be able to conduct import-export operations on the basis of the temporary registration certificates issued by the Moldovan Registration Chamber, whose validity could be extended.

On the other hand, Transnistrian authorities have conditioned their return to the negotiations table by the signature of the “transition protocol”. The Russian Federation has supported from the start the signature of the protocol, and after the conclusion of the Odessa talks, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a communique which states that the signature of the “transition protocol” will allow for the normalisation of the situation around Transnistria and the resumption of the political dialogue between the two parties.

It is worth noting that according to some statements by the Russian representative at the negotiations, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador with Special Missions, Valeri Nesteruskin, the mediators and observers did not reach an agreement regarding the method in which they could bring the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides back to the negotiations table.

In spite of this, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Louis O’Neil, showed happy with the fact that the negotiations took place and said that these have been “an important step towards the future resumption of the negotiations process”.

The results of the Odessa talks featured among the subjects discussed by the Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin with Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Iuri Zubakov. The latter arrived in Chisinau on 25 October afternoon, and travelled to Tiraspol on the next day, where he met with the Transnistrian leadership. According to the electronic publication Novyi Region, in Tiraspol Zubakov called upon the Transnistrian side to return to the negotiations table, but said that it was necessary first to identify a “compromise solution” on the issue of the “transition protocol”. In his turn, Valeri Nesteruskin said that "the fate of the negotiations hangs totally on the signature of the “transition protocol”, but that Russia does not feel so far that Moldova is ready to reach a compromise on the matter.

At the same time, in Tiraspol, the Russian high level officials said that the provisions of the Russian-Transnistrian cooperation agreements are being implemented fully, and about 38 cooperation protocols have been signed to date in various fields.

GUAM will intensify cooperation in settling “frozen conflicts”

GUAM Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Chisinau on 15 October agreed on the consolidation of forces of GUAM states in view of settling “frozen conflicts” in these states. The final resolution of the forum mentions that the sides stressed the need for intensifying inter-parliamentary cooperation in relation to settling conflicts in the GUAM states and preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty thereof.

At the same time, the final resolution recommends the setting up of peacekeeping forces within GUAM and requesting a mandate for peacekeeping operations from the UN and OSCE.

In his speech, Moldovan Speaker Marian Lupu pleaded for the modification of the current peacekeeping mechanism in Transnistria. “Today there is a totally different situation than back in early 1990s. The current format is outdated and needs to be changed,” Speaker Lupu said.

The Chairwoman of the Georgian Parliament, Nino Burdjanadze, stated in her turn that the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the conflict areas in Georgia “does not contribute to solving current problems”. “Russia cannot and does not want to play a positive role in solving conflicts in Abhasia and South Osetia,” the Georgian Speaker further stated.

October 1–15, 2006 December 2–15, 2006