Leaders of opposition political parties consider that negotiating Transnistrian conflict in 2+1 format is betraying national interests

The leaders of the opposition parties consider that negotiating the Transnistrian conflict in the 2+1 format, agreed by President Vladimir Voronin and Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov, is a betrayal of the national interests. On the other hand, the Communists Party says it is only about consultations not negotiations and they reiterate the need to resume the negotiations in the 5+2 format, Info-Prim Neo reports. Leader of Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN) Serafim Urecheanu says that the 5+2 format is a convenient formula that Moldova should maintain. AMN leader considers that the meeting between Voronin and Smirnov is “a pre-electoral farce and nothing more.” Urecheanu said that this meeting was meaningless because Voronin was leaving the Moldovan politics. “He has done nothing during 8 years and I don’t believe he would do something during 8 days,” the AMN leader stated. First deputy president of the Democratic Party (PD) Oleg Serebrian thinks that “this meeting was absolutely useless at the end of the president’s and parliament’s mandates. If something was to happen, it should have happened at the beginning, in 2005-2006.” Serebrian was surprised, as a legislator, to learn about some draft laws and solutions that Voronin presented to Smirnov and about which the deputies know nothing. To Serebrian’s opinion, the 2+1 format is a stupidity and betrayal of the partners which were relied on so much – the EU and the USA. President of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) Vlad Filat shows concerned that a draft law regarding the Transnistrian statute that no one knows has been presented. On the other hand, he is troubled that Voronin said he would continue the consultations on the 2+1 format, and “this contradicts the Moldovan national interest and the commitments taken up to present.” “If they go on with this format, the danger is that the settlement will not be in the interest of Moldova, but in the interest of Tiraspol and Moscow.” Filat thinks the Voronin-Smirnov meeting is “an electoral action, a preparation of the message for the campaign.” On the contrary, president of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD) Dumitru Braghis thinks that the meeting of those two leaders should have happened: “it is a positive event, because, by means of such discussions, premises for settling the Transnistrian problem can appear.” The PSD considers that the documents proposed by Voronin must not be made secret, but published and discussed in society. Eventually, a referendum could be organized, including Transnistria. Dumitru Braghis also thinks that it is not the moment to discuss about changing the format of the negotiations. “I understand, the world crisis will have a negative effect on the negotiations, because the mediators will be more involved in discussions about the crisis, but we should not talk about the modifications of the format, because it is well-known that the key for settling the Transnistrian conflict is in Moscow, Washington and Brussels,” the PSD leader reasons. On the other hand, Communist (PCRM) deputy Vladimir Turcan, the chief of the Legal Committee, emphasizes that those two leaders agreed to continue the consultations in the 2+1 format, not to negotiate. Turcan has reiterated the PCRM’s position that the dispute can be settled only in the 5+2 format. “The consultations have the purpose to identify the positions so that further to be discussed in the 5+2 format,” Turcan explains. He says that the meeting of those two leaders was welcome. “Any discussion at such a level is clearly timely, because only through dialogue we can finally obtain some decisions. It is evident that sometimes the discussions are severe, principled, but this is resulting from the present situation. I am sure that the dialogue between Voronin and Smirnov will be continued and I hope that as soon as possible consultations of this level or on the level of the empowered representatives will happen again,” Vladimir Turcan said. The Legal Committee’s chairman says that the deputies had not been informed about the drafts proposed by the president, because they are not draft laws. “In this case, it is about a project presenting a complex of ideas and proposals that are to be negotiated. Only following these negotiations, after the consultations with all the participants, albeit the 1+2 or 5+2 formats, a legislative procedure can be started,” the parliamentarian explained. President Vladimir Voronin and Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov met on Wednesday, December 24, in Tiraspol. They reached no consensus on resuming the negotiations for settling the Transnistrian conflict in the 5+2 format (Moldova and Transnistria, mediators: Russia, Ukraine and OSCE, observers –EU and USA). But the parts agreed to continue consultations in the 2+1 format, that is Moldova, Transnistria and Russia.