The Unites States supports the idea of granting a special status to the Transnistrian region within a territorial integral Moldova, U.S. Ambassador in Chisinau William Moser said in the program “Fabrika” on “Publika TV” channel.
The diplomat said there are now bigger chances to resolve the Transnistrian dispute this way, if the Russian Federation wants the same thing and does not claim the Transnistrian territory.
According to William Moser, there are disagreements between the statements and actions of the leaders from Tiraspol and Moscow. This shows that Moscow does not fully control the separatist Transnistrian administration. Recently, the Transnistrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk said that he wants a ‘civilized divorce’ with Moldova.
William Moser also said that the signing of the Association and Free Trade Agreements with the EU will significantly contribute to the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. “Given that 50% of Transnistria’s exports are aimed at the Western market, I’m sure that the residents from the left bank of the Nistru will integrate into the Republic of Moldova,” he stated.
He pleaded for the immediate resumption of the monitoring of the Transnistrian region by the OSCE, which was suspended by Tiraspol in October 2013. “The frozen conflicts are not so frozen and can any time generate new conflicts. We cannot allow the conflict to degenerate and thus the monitoring of Transnistria by the OSCE is necessary,” said the diplomat.
In the same program, William Moser stated his opinion on the securing of the border with Transnistrian by Ukraine, especially when there are clear signals of movement of armed soldiers and trafficking in firearms in Ukraine. In this connection, he announced that the U.S. provided US$50 million to Moldova for securing its borders.
