Vitalia Pavlicenco: The political settlement in Transnistria depends directly on the progress made by Moldova on the path to European integration. Info-Prim Neo survey

Info-Prim Neo News Agency has launched an opinion poll on the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict among leaders of political parties, representatives of the civil society, and opinion shapers from both banks of the Nistru. The survey is aimed at finding out viewpoints that could contribute to the improvement of the present situation. All the participants were asked the same two questions. This time, the answers are given by MP Vitalia Pavlicenco, the president of the National Liberal Party (PNL). [- How can the Transnistrian dispute be solved in your opinion? In what way, through what mechanisms and during what terms is a settlement possible? ] - The National Liberal Party regards the events that happened on the left bank of the Nistru at the junction of the 80-90s of the last century as rebellion of an anti-constitutional regime supported by military aggression elements from abroad. The party considers that the Transnistrian dispute can be definitively and irreversibly solved only by internationalizing the settlement process and involving the EU, the US and Romania, alongside OSCE, Russia, and Ukraine in the process. PNL is sure that the appearance of inadequate settlement precedents will lead to destabilization in the zone and will endanger the European security on the whole. The political settlement of the Transnistrian conflict depends directly on the progress made by Moldova on the path to European integration and is stimulated by this process. The party pleads for the formulation of a program of international economic assistance, a kind of mini Marshall plan for Moldova intended to stimulate the political resolution of the Transnistrian dispute and to economically rehabilitate the country in the post-conflict period. The party regards any form of international guarantees for the results of the settlement process as an attempt to limit the sovereignty of Moldova. The only guarantee for solving the conflict is the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and the international law. The National-Liberals have always said that they want to avoid Moldova’s transformation into a hostage of the great powers in the settlement process, which should not endanger the country’s Euro-Atlantic future. It seems that the West more clearly now understands this. Moldova should join NATO in order to drive the Russian troops away and to solve the Transnistrian conflict in accordance with the international standards and survive as a second Romanian state. It will come a time when the Romanian people will decide if and when to reunite. The priority is to reunite with Romania within NATO and the European Union, while Russia must be forced by the West to withdraw all its troops. As National-Liberal MP, I struggled for the provision that Russia should withdraw immediately and unconditionally its troops from Moldova and Georgia at the session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Amsterdam in 1999. Given that Romania is a NATO member and Ukraine wants to become a NATO member, Moldova could abide by these desiderata. In this case, we would be respected and significantly helped as a state, including in the relations with Russia, which energetically and militarily blackmails the West, striving to keep Moldova within its sphere of influence. The national security strategy that the Communists intend to adopt in the Parliament is designed to secure the false and inefficient status of neutrality of Moldova, at a time when we have had Russian occupational troops for 17 years on our territory and cannot control Transnistria and liquidate separatism. To favorably solve the Transnistrian conflict, Moldova should escape from Russia’ influence, join Georgia and Ukraine in their efforts to become part of the EU and NATO and abandon Russia’s protectionism and servilism to Russia that destroys us as a state. [ - How do you think, how efficient and relevant to the created situation are the steps taken by the administration of Moldova at present? When do you think the effort made by the authorities will begin to produce results and what results we can expect?] These efforts are useless. They will result in a peaceful revolution against the Communist governors and their allies, organized by the Opposition, or in abandonment by the Communists of their objective to settle the Transnistrian dispute by all means. In fact, even if Moscow seems to “have ordered” the settlement of the conflict in order to show the West that a conflict can be solved in a different way than the one used for Kosovo, the Transnistrian leaders do not seem happy about a reunification, even about a reunification that will be to Moldova’s detriment. They feel comfortable separately and want to obtain the right to decide on the stationing of the Russian troops, to become independent and recognized or to move towards Russia or Ukraine. In fact, it is not known yet if Russia wants to keep its military presence in Southeastern Europe, to control the bridge head to the Balkans and all the territory of Moldova, which they want to transform into a Russian state through the agency of the Communists, or it wants something else because it sees that Moldova becomes a non-Communist and Romanian state at a steady pace, despite the untruthful surveys carried out by the architects of the red-orange coalition. I think that even if the Communists governors boast that the West is in favor of a quick settlement, the West will not accept that Russia establishes a permanent military presence in Moldova for an indefinite period and that the NATO’s extension to the East is stopped. The efforts made by the Communists are absurd because the Communist Moldova and Transnistria could not remain neutral at a time when Romania is a NATO member and Ukraine could become a NATO member. Almost everyone understands that the Communists’ attempts to solve the conflict have an electoral character and are designed to improve their image after they destroyed the Moldovan state. This is their “patriotism”. A lot of effort will be needed after 2009 to remedy the situation that is now worsened by the Communist mafiot clan and its allies. I am the only MP that did not vote for the law on the principles of identifying a status for Transnistria because we, the representatives of the parties, have worked out a law, but the so-called anti-Romania presidential adviser Mark Tkaciuk formulated another one in Russian overnight and this law was inappropriately translated into Romanian. They lied to the world that it was coordinated with the parliamentary groups. But we see now that they don’t want to observe event this law.