Tiraspol aims at strengthening region’s statehood, FPA

The 'small steps' policy adopted by both parties in the regulation process of the Transnistrian settlement has final stakes for Tiraspol that don’t coincide with those of Chisinau. In the perspective of Transnistrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk and his entourage, the 'small steps' policy would help Transnistria overcome the economic crisis, solve socio-economic issues, eradicate isolation, and thus help strengthen Transnistria’s statehood foundations. The statement was made by Foreign Policy Association (FPA) members during a Press Club meeting, reports Info-Prim Neo. According to Association’s executive director Victor Chirila, the Transnistrian leader hopes that once the region’s socio-economic situation stabilizes, the guarantor states Russia and Ukraine, as well as other participants in the negotiations, OSCE, the EU and the US, will rethink the necessity for changing the regulation form, taking into account the option of acknowledging Transnistria’s independence. “Although there is positive movement, Tiraspol aims at strengthening its economy. However, the recent economic crisis has proven that the Tiraspol regime is frail. It is not economically viable, and the crisis has driven the Tiraspol regime to the verge of collapse, or better put, to a dilemma: to continue being isolated and thus risking deepening the region’s socio-economic crisis, which would negatively affect the regime itself, or to open up and break regional auto-isolation, start a dialogue with Chisinau and the European Union, because that way it has the necessary assistance and tools for modernizing its economy, industry and other sectors”, stated Victor Chirila. In the same context, the FPA director believes that by adopting the 'small steps' policy, with goals other than those of Chisinau, the Tiraspol representatives want to fortify their region’s economy and afterwards strengthen the economy of the Transnistrian region, as well as their arguments in the dialogue with the EU and other actors of the negotiation process. “Recently, Transnistrian leader Shevchuk himself stated that along with the fortification of the region’s economy members of the EU will, perhaps, change their view on the region’s establishment of statehood, and will not reject the acknowledgment of its independence for the future. This must be taken into account by Chisinau. In order to avoid strengthening this region’s statehood, a fact that does not benefit us in any way, we must insist on negotiations having a unique strategic aim, which would imply the gradual reintegration of the Transnistrian region into Moldova”, added Chirila.