Objectiveness is what we want from Russia’s delegation in JCC. Info-Prim Neo interview with Ion Solonenco, Moldovan co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission

[- 2008 marks the sixteenth year since the Joint Control Commission (JCC) came into being. While no conflicts leading to casualties have been registered in this period, why haven’t the parties involved in the conflict learned to trust each other more?] - Human life depends on development. The same happens in these talks. At a certain point in time there is trust, then it grows higher, then it drops, changing like nature itself. It cannot go from zero to 100 percent. It depends on the climate, on the positions and attitude of those involved in these talks, and of course there are additional factors. At the same time, the leadership of the Transnistrian region wants to establish an independent republic by all means. This is the source of everything that happens outside the Security Zone and, of course, it influences the Security Zone itself. The peacekeepers and the Joint Control Commission control the Security Zone and safeguard peace and human rights; but not to the same extent in the course of the year, month or week. Everything within the Security Zone depends on what happens outside of it, in the neighbor countries, in the Caucasus. That is why there is little progress. Compared with the period before 1998, things then went better, there was mutual understanding. In 1998, there was signed the Odessa accord on building trust between the parties and it provided for reducing the number of posts within the Security Zone. Then, unfortunately, the good things done were changed to benefit only one party. Some of the peace-keeping posts removed from the zone were replaced by Transnistrian posts, without the JCC's agreement. And from 1998, the number of those posts has grown. They are the first obstacle leading to confrontations and to worsening the situation in the Security Zone. [- People are still being reported missing in the Security Zone. In July, a car was seized with money belonging to the Moldovan Mail. Why does the situation seem to remain tense?] People disappear because of political reasons. The peacekeepers must stay out of politics and, outside the Security Zone, the Transnistrian structures do this to deliberately escalate the tension within the zone and then to make accusations. Otherwise you cannot blame. Besides the peace-keepers, the JCC and the law-enforcement bodies, nobody is allowed within the Security Zone: this is what the 1992 accord stipulates. As for other events, there was even more serious stuff: they arrested employees of the Moldovan police, both in the zone and in Tiraspol. They were punished, jailed, and then we had to fight years to set them free. Even Moldovan peace-keepers were detained. Posta Moldovei and the Transnistrian mail have an agreement enabling them to work in the Security Zone. According to a protocol of 1993, the collectors carrying pensions, indemnities are endowed with weapons and can move freely within the Zone. Unfortunately these agreements are not observed by both parties. While Moldova and its representatives within the zone observe them, the Transnistrian party held up (Posta Moldovei's car – e.n.) [- From Chisinau, one can notice the Russian delegation in the JCC making common front with the Tiraspol delegation in many cases. Is the format of country representatives in the JCC working?] Under the 1992 accord, the JCC is made up of representatives of Russia, of Moldova and of Transnistria. Now they are attended by Ukrainian military observers and OSCE representatives. But the core remains three-sided, with six members from each party. In order to modify something, the Moldo-Russian agreement needs to be modified first. Recently the JCC Russian co-chairman has been replaced and the diplomat Sergey Gorlov seems to be a reasonable man, not making hasty conclusions. We hope he will get to the core and we'll find common ground. We're interested in a single thing: our wish concerning the conduct of the Russian delegation in the JCC is to display objectiveness in solving problems and considering the materials presented by the JCC and the Military Command for sittings. Objectively, without any bias. Then there will be few accusations addressed to the Russian representatives.