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Transnistrian Conflict on May 1–16, 2008
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e-journal #117 |
After being created last April to remedy current problems in Chisinau-Tiraspol relations, the activity of bilateral working groups was actually blocked after three rounds of debates. In this regard, the head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Philip Remler, and Minister of Reintegration Vasile Sova had to publicly raise their concern. Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov has explained at a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Moldova Valeriy Kuzimin that the activity of the working groups is blocked because their experts have an indefinite status and it is unclear in general whether Chisinau has plans to respect previous agreements with Tiraspol (the period 1996–2001). Now Transnistria is interested to resolve concrete problems such as economic, ecological, transportation issues (for example, restoration of railway traffic). In turn, Chisinau wants to reveal the problem regarding property on railway network. Smirnov outlined that Chisinau authorities are not interested so far in discussing political matters, avoiding reaction to the draft “friendship and cooperation agreement between Moldova and Transnsitria” handed in to President Voronin during the April 11 meeting in Bender.
On background of the blocked activity of working groups and exchange of bitter remarks between Voronin and Smirnov, Brussels hosted on May 14 a meeting between Moldovan Speaker Marian Lupu and the head of the Tiraspol legislature, Evgeny Shevchyuk. The declared goal of the meeting organised with the support of the European Commission representative to Moldova, Kalman Mizsei, was to participate in debates on confidence-building actions via legislative institutions, as well as to discuss concrete and current projects such as joint fight against trafficking in human beings. Russian media (Nezavisimaya Gazeta) considers that the meeting between Marian Lupu and Evgeny Shevchyuk tested the “soft power” of the European Union in settling “frozen” conflicts. In all likelihood, the Brussels meeting aimed to establish long-term cooperation relations between young leaders who could succeed after the 2009 elections, taking over the control on the conflict resolution process, rather than to strengthen the confidence between “the two banks of the Dniester”. In truth, President Voronin’s second presidential mandate will be over in April 2009 and both Russia and Transnistria are contesting Smirnov’s authority after he has been accused of embezzlement and protection of interests of the family clan. Also, a race between emblematical characters of the Transnistrian elite is observed here. Thus, Russian reports started panegyrising Transnistrian vice-president Alexandr Korolyov in February 2007, introducing him as a kind of “Transnistrian Putin”RU, who would eventually replace old and decrepit Smirnov, as the latter is about to lose his authority in front of defiance by local oligarchy headed by Shevchyuk. Assaults by Ukrainian mediaRU against Smirnov have recently turned into accusations that his clan had terminated those who tried to compete with his family business.
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