There is now no interest in the Transnistrian conflict in Germany and in general in the European Union, Head of Program at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin Stefan Meister said in an interview for Radio Free Europe, quoted by IPN.
At the beginning of this year, Germany took over the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is one of the mediators in the Transnistrian conflict settlement process.
“The problem I see is that the main focus will be on Russia in Ukraine, in Donbas region, and I think that the German chairmanship will try to use the OSCE to find solutions together with the Russians in Donbas and Ukraine in general. And this thing will occupy the mind of the chairmanship to the detriment of other conflicts such as that in Transnistria or those in the Caucasus,” stated Stefan Meister.
The expert noted that the Transnistrian conflict is now not a priority. “When work is done on the conflict in Ukraine, undivided attention will be required. So, I have particular doubts about the dose of effort and energy that will be invested in the Transnistrian conflict,” said Stefan Meister.
The expert considers that in politics they focus on the conflict that takes place now and that is really hot. So, the whole attention will be now devoted to eastern Ukraine, also because Germany invested a lot in finding a solution for being a leader in this process.
Stefan Meister considers that if Ukraine stabilizes, it will become more European and will decide to integrate into the EU and the Free Trade Area with the EU and this will be beneficial to Moldova. This will be a positive factor and it will be simpler to control the borders and to build a solid system.
