Tiraspol, 14 November. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Therefore, the accession to power of a new team in 2011 headed by Yevgeny Shevchuk marked a new stage in the formulation and implementation of the country's foreign policy. According to Russian web magazine Rabkor, the new leadership of the republic managed to get the right feel of both time demands and the needs of its strategic partner — the Russian Federation.
«Priorities, goals, objectives and forms of implementing Pridnestrovie's foreign policy were enshrined in the new foreign policy concept of the PMR, adopted on 20 November 2012. The document sets as the main priorities Eurasian integration — integral implementation of the 2006 referendum results with an emphasis on the 'practice' - and the negotiation process with the Republic of Moldova as a recognition of the necessity of returning to dialogue," say Rabkor journalists.
The article particularly states that the document was highly assessed by Russia's ministry of foreign affairs. In particular, during his visit to Pridnestrovie in 2012, ambassador at large Sergey Gubarev, representing Russia in the 5+5 format talks, called a draft of the concept «a serious claim for an integral, consistent document that will determine a plan for the near future.»
«In fact, the new leadership of the PMR proposed a long overdue and relevant vision of the country's foreign policy, and namely the need for it being action-oriented and focusing on tangible results in both relations with the Russian Federation and negotiations with the Republic of Moldova," writes Robkor.
The magazine underscores that the new paradigm of Pridnestrovie's foreign policy has gained its own specific characteristics. The republic launched a large-scale construction of social facilities — primarily through the unprecedented assistance of the Russian Federation, but also with the involvement of international organisations. Medical institutions, schools, kindergartens and other social infrastructure facilities have been built and reconstructed. The appointment of Dmitry Rogozin, a high-ranking official on the one hand and deputy prime minister in charge of defence industry on the other, to the post of special envoy of the Russian president on Pridnestrovie was a «recognition» of the rightness of the country's rapprochement with Russia and Eurasian structures.
Referring to the relations between the PMR and the Republic of Moldova from 2012 on, Russian journalists emphasise that the dialogue has gained a strong practical focus. The tactics of small steps, proposed by President Shevchuk, — the resolution of specific problems amid diametrically opposite views on the model of political settlement — was in fact a reflection of the intention to give a socially-oriented focus to the negotiation process.
«Thus, Pridnestrovie's foreign policy under President Yevgeny Shevchuk shows the level of political maturity of the country's leadership, deliberateness and consistency. It relies, on the one hand, on the will of the people, and on the other, on the need to achieve practical results in improving Pridnestrovie's self-sufficiency and viability as a de facto sovereign state," notes Rabkor.
At the same time, according to Russian journalists, Pridnestrovie's foreign policy of recent years has shown continuity and ideological commitment to the pillars of the «Pridnestrovian idea» along with a thorough rethinking of methods of achieving goals.
«In this context, Pridnestrovie is a good example of a de jure unrecognised state efficiently employing political and diplomatic tools amid hostile external environment and lack of favourable conditions for the rapid achievement of international recognition," says the article.
