The Party of Socialists (PSRM) condemns the “haste, emotivity and lack of insight” with which the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted the Resolution condemning Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, including the amendment on the occupation of the Transnistrian region. “The document adopted by PACE is of a political nature, it is not binding and does not produce legal effects”, the Socialists said in a statement released Wednesday.
According to the PSRM, the paragraph on the recognition of the Transnistrian region as an area of Russian occupation was included in the final text of the Resolution at the initiative of the Romanian delegation, “in violation of relevant procedures, without consulting the Moldovan delegation, regardless of the country’s official position”.
“We consider the adoption of this amendment in the final text of the Resolution to be a provocative step, meant to draw our neutral country into the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, into dangerous geopolitical games. We remind you that the authorities and the opposition of the country have reached a consensus regarding the need to maintain neutrality for the Republic of Moldova and non-involvement in the military conflict in Ukraine. Radical PACE forces are undermining our joint efforts”, the statement said.
The main opposition party criticizes “the lack of courage of some PAS representatives, who voted for this irresponsible initiative and who, either unknowingly or intentionally, downgraded the Transnistrian settlement process to an improbable level”.
“We call on the leadership of the Republic of Moldova to show wisdom and political responsibility. Our country must not fall victim to the provocative actions of the external forces that contribute to the increase of tensions in our region, to the stopping of political negotiations and to a new escalation of the conflict on the Nistru”, reads the PSRM statement.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has officially recognized Moldova’s Transnistrian region as a Russian-occupied territory, due to an amendment proposed by Romania, Ukraine, France, Estonia, the UK, Georgia amd Turkey. Asked to comment, Moldova’s foreign minister Nicu Popescu noted that the decision is a political opinion formulated in a declaration that refers primarily to the situation in Ukraine. “On behalf of the Government, I can reiterate that the Republic of Moldova will continue to look for solutions to the reunification of the country by dialogue and by negotiations as this is the only way for making headway in achieving this objective of our country. Evidently, we insist on the necessity of withdrawing the Russian troops from the territory of the Republic of Moldova,” stated Nicu Popescu.
