Tiraspol, 5 June. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The foreign minister of the PMR, Vitaly Ignatyev, told Novosti Pridnestrovya, about how the set of measures taken by Moldova against Pridnestrovie could exacerbate tensions throughout the region.
«The actions that have been taken in recent years, especially in recent months, have become tougher and more consistent. We can say Kishinev has chosen the tactic of unilateral actions, the tactic of solving problematic issues by force. In order to compel all the parties, including Pridnestrovie, to make political concessions," explained Ignatyev.
According to him, the expulsion of Russian diplomats, who were JCC member, from Moldova, the Moldovan Constitution Court's decision declaring the Russian peacekeepers to be invaders are the links of the same chain — for many years Kishinev has been seeking to disrupt the mechanism of the existing peacekeeping operation.
«These actions knock out one of the pillars of peace and stability in the Dniester region. This is an extremely destructive decision. This is, in fact, playing with fire," noted the minister.
This is happening against the backdrop of the establishment of joint Moldo-Ukrainian control over the Pridnestrovian border. Ignatyev underscores that a new regional reality has thus been created.
«The mechanisms, including those of foreign trade, have been broken down; the agreements reached within the negotiating process have been blatantly violated. These are unilateral actions in the spheres of the economy and freedom of movement are taken in the face of the deliberate blocking of opportunities to solve these issues through political and diplomatic means," he says.
It is important to understand that the joint control means a huge loss for the economy and possible arrests of ordinary citizens as Moldova initiated about 200 politically motivated criminal cases against Pridnestrovian officials and businessmen. In fact, this a total blockade of Pridnestrovie, which may cause a sharp deterioration in citizens' living standards. Besides, the deployment of Moldovan customs and border guard officers outside the Security Zone, where the peacekeepers prevented 15 conflicts in 2015 alone, may trigger an escalation of tension.
Meanwhile, according to Ignatyev, the «5+2» international negotiating process is blocked, the Berlin Protocol remains on paper, and a mechanism ensuring the implementation of agreements has not been worked out.
Upon the launch of the «5+2» format in 2002, it was assumed that the parties were capable of concluding agreements, the diplomat explains. «But after a while, it became clear that the Moldovan side was not ready to implement even those decisions signed by its supreme leadership and the chief negotiator of Moldova," he notes.
A year ago, at the international meeting in Berlin, the parties to the «5+2» negotiation process backed Russia's initiative to work out a mechanism ensuring the implementation of agreements. Only Moldova, for which renunciation of previous agreements is part of a strategy against Pridnestrovie, rejected this proposal
«Without this mechanism, without a clear and responsible implementation by all parties to the negotiations of their responsibilities, it is very difficult to move forward," concluded Ignatyev.
