Minor progress was made in Transnistrian conflict settlement in 2013, report

14.03.2014 14:17
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The progress made in 2013 in resolving the Transnistrian dispute is minor compared with 2012, when the discussions in the official negotiating format “5+2” were resumed. “Last year, there were held five rounds of talks under the OSCE Chairmanship held by Ukraine. The discussions had a positive impact, but no significant progress was made. The “5+2” format continues to keep the Transnistrian conflict frozen.

The conclusions are contained in the publication “Euromonitor” (Moldova’s European integration: progress made in 2013 and challenges of 2014), produced by the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT and the Independent Analytical Center “Expert-Grup, IPN reports.

When presenting the publication, ADEPT executive director Igor Botan said the year 2013 was marked by altercations between representatives of the police from the two banks of the Nistru in the Security Zone. The series of incidents that happened in April – May 2013 undermined the reciprocal confidence of the sides involved in the conflict, despite the concerted international effort made to resolve the dispute.

The Transnistrian authorities returned to the practice of intimidating the Moldovan-administered Latin-script schools, which are a symbol of Transnistrians’ resistance for the official Chisinau. No significant progress was made because the sides promote different regional integration projects, while the deterioration of the situation in the Security Area was fueled by the expressed divergent integrationist options.

Igor Botan said the situation was worsened by Russia’s intention to open a consulate in Tiraspol and the political pressure exerted on the Moldovan authorities as well as by the fact that the Transnistrian authorities asked negotiating problems related to the Free Trade Area with the EU separately from the constitutional authorities, arguing that they weren’t admitted to the talks, which is not true.

Igor Botan underlined that despite the fact that 2013 was a tense one, the dialogue must be continued because there is no other option. The new conjuncture and the current context must be analyzed. Until things calm down in Ukraine, the situation should remain frozen.