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Transnistrian Conflict on May 16–31, 2007
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e-journal #96 |
Negotiations in the “5+2” format on Transnistria
On 25 May in Madrid took place a new meeting of the mediators on behalf of the OSCE, Russia and Ukraine and the observers on behalf of the EU and US, upon the initiative of the OSCE Chairman in Office, Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos. According to an OSCE communique, the sides exchanges opinions on current situation and future prospects and launched a new call upon the sides to return to the negotiations table.
“I hope the «5+2» format, in which the sides participate together with the mediators and the observers, can be resumed in the nearest future”, Minister Moratinos stated after the consultations.
The EU Special Representative for Moldova, Kalman Mizsei, expressed hope that the negotiations will be resumed by the end of June, so that the sides can discuss all divergences at the negotiations table, Radio Free Europe reported. Asked about the alleged talks between Russia and Moldova on a would-be new settlement plan, Ambassador Mizsei said that he had received assurances from Moscow that there is no such bilateral agreement and that any initiative on Transnistria will be approved within the “5+2” mechanism. At the same time, the diplomat said that in Chisinau he had discussed in great detail with the authorities some Moldovan initiatives on Transnistria. Mizsei did not disclose any details of the latter, but said that they “have healthy roots”.
Earlier, President Voronin had a meeting with the Deputy Secretary of the Russian Supreme Security Council, Yuri Zubakov. No details of the meeting were released, and a presidential press service communique only said that the meeting took place in the context of agreements reached between the Moldovan and Russian presidents and tackled bilateral issues, including the Transnistrian problem.
Zubakov’s mystery visit to Chisinau, his second in 2007, was commented broadly in the international press in the context of past weeks’ discussions on an alleged new Transnistrian settlement plan negotiated secretly by Chisinau and Moscow. According to the Moscow based newspaper Kommersant.ru, Zubakov came to Chisinau to persuade Voronin to sign a common statement with Transnistrian leader, Igor Smirnov, regarding their intention to formulate the principles of settlement. At its basis would lay the concept of a common state and a special status for Transnistria, which concept would be further elaborated under the close supervision of Russia.
Electronic portal EUObserver.com wrote, referring to sources from the “5+2” group, that Vladimir Putin would have approved the Moldovan-Russian plan and that the two presidents would meet on 10 June to sign the plan and then present it to the EU as a fait accompli.
These allegations seem to be supported by some theses advanced by President Voronin in an ample interview with Russian News Agency Ria Novosti. Voronin said that only with the political will of Kremlin can the Transnistrian problem be solved. “In all these years on behalf of the Kremlin, and in particular, on behalf of the Russian leadership…there has been a positive reaction to our proposals.” At the same time, Voronin said that any chance to identify a solution is counteracted by all sorts of provocations, including on behalf of the West.
US Embassy Diplomats denied access into Transnistria
On 23 May the Transnistrian authorities denied access to Transnistria to a group of American diplomats, officers of the US Embassy in Chisinau, on grounds that they did not coordinate their visit with the region’s “ministry of foreign affairs”. Contacted by Embassy representatives, Transnistrian foreign affairs department said they did not order any interdiction which probably came from “some other department”.
“I am certain that were Russian or Ukrainian representatives in our place, there would not have been any problems and no coordination would have been required”, Martin McDowell, Head of the Political Section of US Embassy, told the press.
It is for the fifth time that American diplomats are denied access into Transnistria to exercise unhindered their diplomatic activity. The US Embassy in Moldova has named the retention of diplomats as a “continuous obstruction of the diplomatic activity”.
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