The Government is drafting a strategy for reintegrating the Transnistrian region and will make it public in several weeks, Victor Chirila, adviser to Prime Minister Vlad Filat on foreign policy and relations with the diaspora, said in a meeting of the Foreign Policy Association’s Press Club on February 21. He said that before being published, the strategy will be presented to the participants in Transnistrian conflict settlement talks in the 5+2 format. It grants the status of autonomous region to Transnistria, which is yet to observe the sovereignty, independence and integrity of Moldova. These are the three principles on which the authorities will insist, but the region will be given broad powers and responsibilities. According to Victor Chirila, the change of the Transnistrian leader is a reason for ‘moderated optimism’. “We have a new context and a new situation that makes us hope that the dialogue will be constant, pragmatic and realistic this time and will end not only with formal meetings, but also with definite steps,” he stated. He also said that emphasis is now laid on the 5+2 format talks that will take place in Dublin on February 28-29. Chisinau hopes that the sides will agree the negotiation principles and will reach a compromise as regards the agenda that must include issues concerning the future status of the Transnistrian region. On the other hand, acting director of the Foreign Policy Association Eugen Revenko said the Moldovan authorities were unprepared for the changes that occurred in the Transnistrian region. He stressed that both the Government and Parliament are preoccupied with other problems and the situation may worsen if early legislative elections take place. Even if the developments in Transnistria offer certain prospects, no qualitative changes took place there, said Eugen Revenko. Speaking about the draft strategy, he said that it should contain responsibilities, not only rights for the Transnistrian region, including the observance of the human rights and the status of the Romanian teaching schools, the equality of chances. Both Victor Chirila and Eugen Revenko said that it is now not opportune to raise the modification of the format of the peacekeeping mission in the Security Zone at the meeting in Dublin so as not to imperil the negotiation process.