It's naive to expect radical changes from Smirnov, political pundit

“It would be too naive to expect positive and radical changes from Igor Smirnov. Over the last 20 years, he specialized in destroying the Republic of Moldova”. That’s how political analyst Oazu Nantoi commented for Info-Prim Neo on the meeting between Prime Minister Vlad Filat and separatist leader Igor Smirnov in Germany. The analyst says that the only result was the signing of the Regulations on the activity of joint commissions. “Of 170 signed documents over twenty years, Tiraspol didn’t execute any that stipulated a concession towards restoring Moldova’s integrity. The signing of the latest document is something good, but let’s see how it will work. I’m quite skeptical about it”, he said. Nantoi doesn’t think that official negotiations will be resumed any time soon. “I distrust the so-called 5+2 negotiations. For twenty years, this format proved fruitless. All that can be relevant for Moldova’s reintegration is related to dismantling the anti-constitutional structure on the left bank of Nistru and creating opportunities for various population groups in the region. This includes applying a set of restrictive measures against a small group of persons. The conflict must be solved through actions and not through negotiations with the public enemy that is Igor Smirnov”, said the analyst. He thinks the meeting was organized so that OSCE could claim it did something. “The meeting took place because Lithuania, which chairs the OSCE, is a country that knows the post-Soviet situation very well. They need no additional explanation about the Transnistrian regime. On the other hand, OSCE made this effort to show it’s still able to do something. This meeting is one of those rare events that prove OSCE’s capacity”, stated Nantoi. The expert doubts that Igor Smirnov could obtain some political advantages in the eve of the so-called presidential elections in Transnistria, as claimed by several politicians in Chisinau. “On the left bank of Nistru, they fake elections and opposition. The (local intelligence service) MGB is in charge of selecting candidates to feign competition. Any deviations from this course of action aren’t likely to produce any changes to Smirnov’s image that would favor him”, says the analyst. Oazu Nantoi awaits consequences, because there had been meeting between Smirnov and Snegur, Smirnov and Lucinschi, Smirnov and Voronin, but all proved unproductive. “This is a continuation of the football diplomacy and we shouldn’t expect any major positive twists”, thinks Nantoi. On Friday, September 9, Vlad Filat met with Igor Smirnov at an OSCE conference in Germany, where they discussed confidence-building measures.