Last week, another meeting of the main negotiators from Pridnestrovie and Moldova was held in Bendery: the dialogue between Vitaly Ignatiev and Oleg Serebryan resumed after a relatively long pause. The previous conversation took place in February this year. As you know, despite the warnings of Tiraspol, the Moldovan Parliament nevertheless adopted the so-called law on separatism and posed a threat to the negotiation process, as a result of which the current meeting of political representatives, for security reasons, had to be held in Bendery, and not in Chisinau. By agreeing to meetings exclusively on the territory of Pridnestrovie, the Moldovan side confirmed the existence of risks for the Pridnestrovian delegation in Moldova.
In order to eliminate any threats, the PMR Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposes that Chisinau return to the previously existing mechanism for the movement of officials of the parties through the territory of Pridnestrovie and Moldova. It is important to understand that the security and inviolability of the negotiating groups is one of the basic principles of any peaceful dialogue, therefore, due to the actions of the Moldovan side, the negotiation process may well face a complete suspension.
Blockade of Medical Imports
Among the common list of current problems, the most acute is the impossibility of importing individual elements of medical equipment into Pridnestrovie. Apparently, Chisinau continues to put forward politicized demands to the capital's hospital and, by blocking the access of Pridnestrovians to medical services, is trying to extend the effect of its legislation to medical institutions of the PMR. For more than thirty years of complex unsettled relations between Pridnestrovie and the Republic of Moldova, the Moldovan side, perhaps for the first time, makes the life and health of our population hostages of its political ambitions. Any sane person understands that basic human rights prevail over any regulatory and technical requirements of the state.
According to the Minister of Foreign AffairsVitaly Ignatiev, Chisinau was offered several compromise options on how to resolve the issue as soon as possible and allow the X-ray tube to be transferred. For example, it is known that the Moldovan Government uses the mechanism of the Commission for Emergency Situations on a regular basis, which allows, in derogation from any Moldovan law, to take exceptional decisions in an expeditious manner to resolve complex issues.
It is appropriate to recall that at present, several educational institutions are operating in the territory of Pridnestrovie, which are directly subordinate to Chisinau, and in the Dubossary Region, Moldovan farmers are engaged in farming on a preferential basis. At the same time, neither in the first nor in the second case, the requirements of the current legislation of the PMR are not applied in full, but with exceptions, since there are certain agreements between the parties.
The Fate of the Negotiations
During the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR once again called for the resumption of the work of the “Permanent Conference ...” on the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian settlement, and, judging by the statements following the meeting, all participants continue to express their commitment to the current 5 + 2 negotiation format, from which, as if some participants would not like it, it is obviously impossible to refuse. Even despite the critical statements of the Ukrainian leadership, Kyiv is in no hurry to leave the existing negotiation structures, which is confirmed by the visit to Chisinau of the newly appointed special representative of Ukraine, who formally represents the Ukrainian side in the 5 + 2.
It is still difficult to predict the prospects for dialogue between Tiraspol and Chisinau, but there are still certain chances for practical results. The Moldovan negotiator left for Chisinau with "homework", which includes the unblocking of imports of medical equipment, as well as the resumption of full-fledged work of the points of issue of neutral license plates in Tiraspol and Rybnitsa. We look forward to the next meeting.
Pavel Alexandrov
