An international conference “Pridnestrovie – Moldova – Russia: important issues of regional security and peacekeeping” was held in Bendery. During discussions, which were organized by Institute of Socio-Political Research and Regional Development as well as the Public Diplomacy Supporting Fund named after A.M. Gorchakov, representatives of the PMR Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Russian Embassy in Moldova, Rossotrudnichestvо, and Pridnestrovian, Moldovan and Russian political experts took part.
The PMR Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev describe the situation in the negotiation process between Pridnestrovie and Moldova, the peacekeeping mission’s role in the process of the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict’s peaceful settlement and interoperation between Pridnestrovie and Russia.
According to V. Ignatiev, the peacekeeping operation, which began in the year of 1992, launched the beginning of the peaceful settlement and is known to be an important basis for a political dialogue between Tiraspol and Chisinau. Currently, the peacekeeping mechanism, despite all attacks and provocations is demonstrating sustainability and effectiveness, which makes it possible to control the situation in the Security Zone.
At the same time, the PMR Foreign Ministry head noted the negotiation process’s degradation, expressed in the Moldovan authorities’ unwillingness to fulfill their obligations.
In 2016, the Berlin Protocol was signed, which reflects humanitarian issues affecting Pridnestrovian and Moldovan population’s interests. However, Chisinau doesn’t fulfill any agreement. Moreover, in recent years, pressure on Pridnestrovie has been intensified by Moldovan authorities.
Such approach of the Moldovan authorities was distinguished by Vitaly Ignatiev as “the imitation of negotiations, including never-ending attempts of hybrid pressure on Pridnestrovie.” Vitaly Ignatiev used as an example the financial and economic blockade, detention of vital cargo for Pridnestrovie during the COVID-19 pandemic, failure to fulfill obligations on a number of humanitarian issues: politically charged criminal investigations, telecommunications, the mechanism for the Pridnestrovian cars’ participation in the international road traffic. At the same time, Chisinau created an additional problem by initiating the threat of prohibitions on vehicles with Pridnestrovian numbers from entering Ukraine. The illegal arrest of PMR citizen Alexander Samoniy by Moldovan security official forces, for whose rights the Pridnestrovian authorities have been struggling for almost two years, also doesn’t contribute to the relations’ improvement.
In actual fact, the negotiation process is being delayed by the Moldovan governing class. Today, the Moldovan authorities have neither a plan, nor a consistent approach to solve the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict, but politicians use this topic to obtain personal dividends, Ignatiev noted. In such conditions, it’s difficult to discuss the political issues of the settlement.
“We’ve heard opinions that it’s about time to proceed with the political agenda: why should we solve insignificant problems. However, to the extent that Chisinau cannot solve insignificant problems in the interests of both Dniester river banks citizens, then what to talk about more global ones?” – the head of the PMR foreign policy department emphasized.
Vitaly Ignatiev stressed that if previously signed agreements were fulfilled by the Moldovan side, the Pridnestrovian and Moldovan citizens would have much less problems. However, during decades Chisinau hasn’t attempt anything to bring closer the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict’s fair settlement.
The PMR Foreign Affairs Minister expressed his hope that the new Moldovan authorities will be able after all to proceed with entirely fulfilling their obligations. In this regard, the international partners’ assistance is very important. It’s also important to launch a mechanism for the agreements’ implementation, which plan has long been proposed by Tiraspol, the head of the foreign policy department emphasized.
