Regulation of Kosovo conflict will create a pattern for solving Transnistrian issue

Romania’s President Traian Basescu believes the settlement of the Kosovo conflict will create a precedent for the regulation of the Transnistrian conflict. “There are three fundamental principles, according to which the problems in Europe should be solved. These are the territorial integrity of the states, the inviolability of the borders, and non-admission of collective rights to minorities”, stated on Tuesday, January 16, Romania’s President, who paid a short visit to Chisinau. According to Basescu, the EU standards refer to individual rights but not collective ones, which would make independent states appear everywhere a concentration of minorities exists. From this point of view, the opinions of Bucharest and Chisinau match and the first test for the International Community will probably be that of Kosovo, he said. According to the President of Romania, the way in which the International Community will solve the Kosovo issue is extremely important for the creation of a possible precedent, because there should not be a precedent which would affect the territorial integrity, inviolability of frontiers or admission of collective rights to minorities. In turn, President of Moldova Vladimir Voronin stated that he has been interested in hearing the opinion of an EU member-state concerning the Serbia-Kosovo conflict. Voronin said that this conflict has a certain influence upon the Transnistrian one, even if they are not “strongly connected”.