The small-steps policy in the Transnistrian conflict settlement process becomes inefficient. The dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol produces fewer sand fewer results at practical level. The list of conflict subjects extends, while the Transnistrian administration distances itself from the median of a possible consensus with the Moldovan authorities. In this connection, the Moldovan authorities aim to continue the dialogue with the Transnistrian administration so as to prevent the conflict from turning into an armed one as it can thwart the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU, executive director of the Foreign Policy Association (APE) Victor Chirila said in a press club meeting staged by the Association at IPN.
According to Victor Chirila, it is rather improbable that the trends will improve in 2014, which is an electoral year in Moldova. The Moldovan authorities will not have the political will, consensus, energy and time needed to become fully involved in the Transnistrian conflict settlement process. Most probably, the official Chisinau will choose to continue a sterile dialogue without ambition, solving, according to possibilities, minor problems that are mainly unconnected with the country’s reunification.
A great deficiency of the Moldovan authorities as regards the Transnistrian dispute is the lack of a credible reunification policy that would be adopted and supported at least by the ruling parliamentary majority, considers the APE executive director. Any state policy must include a set of indispensable elements in order to achieve the set objectives, such as vision, strategy and implementation methods.
Over the last four years, the country’s reunification has been constantly among the seven top priorities. But its relevance in the government’s hierarchy of priorities changed during the last year. In the period when the Government was headed by Vlad Filat (September 2009 – May 2013), the reintegration of the country came second after the European integration, but now this desideratum ranks seventh among the seven top priorities of the Cabinet led by Iurie Leanca.
The program of the Leanca Government no longer includes the necessity of working out a broad strategy for reunifying the country, emphasis being put on the promotion of political resolution in the 5+2 negotiation format, creation of preconditions for reintegrating the Transnistrian region into the economic, informational, political, social and cultural spheres of Moldova, promotion of confidence-building measures between the people living on the two banks of the Nistru River, and mobilization of foreign partners’ efforts for supporting the Transnistrian conflict settlement process.
Victor Chirila added that the confidence-building measures promoted until now, especially owing to the EU assistance, are practically invisible and do not produce the expected results on the spirit of things in the region. The situation in the Security Zone continues to be tense, while the risk of violent escalation of the conflict increased. The political negotiations and the discussion of security problems in the 5+2 format talks are constantly sabotaged by Russia and the Transnistrian administration, with both threatening to boycott the 5+2 format.
