The Ukrainian authorities must make effort to avoid the traps into which Moldova fell when the 5+2 format for settling the Transnistrian conflict was instituted. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry should state its position trenchantly and must not allow two powers to take decisions without its consent, as it happened in Syria. The issue was discussed in a Chisinau – Kiev duplex on Radio Moldova, IPN reports.
Political analyst Nicolae Chirtoaca said the situation in Crimea reminds of the events that took place in Moldova 25 years ago. The scenario is clear, but the end is not yet clear. “Most probably, in order to stop Ukraine and Moldova from coming closer to the EU, they are weakening their statehood. I will not be surprised if the Russian side proposes tomorrow that the western part of Ukraine and Crimea should have a special status,” he stated, adding that accepting a Russia military contingent as a guarantor to keep would be the most serious mistake.
Arcadie Barbarosie, executive director of the Public Policy Institute, said the 5+2 format of the Transnistrian conflict settlement talks, which includes Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, Moldova, Transnistria, the EU and the U.S., is designed not to solve the Transnistrian conflict, but to maintain it. “There are military forces of Russia, peacekeepers and over 1,000 military men who guard the munitions depots in Colbasna. The munitions are not withdrawn because the Transnistrian administration is against it. The same may happen in Crimea,” he said.
Alexei Kolomiet, head of the Kiev Center of European and Transatlantic Academies, said a global geopolitical game is played and the reasons are clear. “When we understand that we are in a geopolitical war, we may look for answers. The center of the geopolitical war is in Ukraine, not in Crimea. Crimea served only as a reason,” he stated.
Ukrainian political expert Vladimir Nagorno said that if looking attentively, there can be found parallels between the situation in Ukraine and in the Transnistrian region, including the presence of Russian military forces there. “In both of the cases, the people’s orientation to the values of the Soviet period played an important role. This conflict wasn’t between ethnical groups, but between the power and ethnical groups,” he said.
The Ukrainian interlocutors added that the security service and the army of Ukraine were gradually destroyed by the former administration of the country. They consider that the Ukrainian authorities should sit at the negotiating table with Moscow only after all the Russian troops are sent back to their bases in Crimea. Vladimir Nagorno added that the main lesson that should be learned is that the country must be ready to defend itself actively and governance should be under strict control.
