“The Economist” newspaper denounces report on Transnistria’s independence

“Cold-war propaganda wars returns”, economist.com headlines, the web page of the London-based “The Economist” newspaper, cited by Info-Prim Neo. The story tells about the practices used by Kremlin in backing the regime from Tiraspol and other three breakaway regions. Thus, the periodical denounces the outcomes of a report supporting international recognition for Transnistria. The Econmist.com is referring to a report produced in July by the International Council for Democratic Institutions and State Sovereignty (ICDISS), which claims to be nonpartisan and non-profit. The aforementioned study, publicized in Russia and Transnistria, supports international recognition for Transnistria and claims to be endorsed by influent academics from Stanford, Oxford and Harvard, well-known lawyers and even a US State Department official. Investigations have found that the origin of the sources and the unbiasedness of ICDISS are doubtful, given the suspicious contacts the authors of the report provide. The results of the study also come in sharp contrast to all Western governments’ official position. The Econimist.com believes that Kremlin is the one which stands behind ICDISS, “which is engaged in a new push to support Transnistria and three similar statelets” of the ex-soviet space. Victor Yasmann, an analyst in Prague, interviewed by Economist.com, predicts that “Russia will invite the four to join the Commonwealth of Independent States, a Russian-led talking shop. That would be a half-way house to their full independence, a gain for the Kremlin and a setback for the West”, the analyst considers, interviewed by Economist.com and cited by Info-Prim Neo. „The Economist” is a weekly news and international affairs publication edited in London since 1843. Its average circulation topped one million copies a week, about half of which are sold in North America. The breakaway region from the left bank of Nistru is to arrange for a plebiscite on independence on September 17, the sixth already since its separation. The EU, OSCE and the USA criticized from the beginning this new attempt to legalize Tiraspol’s independence.