“There are now no possibilities of settling the Transnistrian conflict, including in the 5+2 format that is actually a format for monitoring the situation and for avoiding the unfreezing of the hot phase of the dispute. We should definitely insist on a single unitary state, but a new political class is needed for the purpose as the current government is unable to do this, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Viorel Cibotaru stated in the public debate “What are the chances of unfreezing the frozen Nistru conflict?” that was staged by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova.
The Lib-Dem considers the current government is neither credible nor capable of resolving the dispute, but can generate new conflict zones. The population from both sides of the Nistru, especially from the right one, continues to be antagonized and separated by different calls, appeals and revanchist statements.
According to Viorel Cibotaru, the solution to the conflict should be undoubtedly identified within the unitary state Moldova. The special status principles were thought up long ago and were adjusted including to the European standards and all the possibilities of self-assertion of the Moldovans from Transnistria. “Regrettably, today we do not have conditions and a capable government that would protect this reintegration in the future. They work in concert. It is evident that the opposition of the left, the Party of Socialists, cooperates with the current government, dividing the roles between them. We do not see possibilities of identifying solutions in the near future, but solutions to abandon this process cannot be accepted either,” he stated.
The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party also said that a struggle is needed to replace the political class by new people who will be able to identitf a compromise, including with the people from the left side of the Nistru, but not before eliminating the influence of Russia, which continues to be institutionalized in Transnistria.
The politician noted that the Transnistrian issue for him is not only a research or political matter, but also a personal matter because he was involved in historical actions of this conflict, related to its roots, development and armed stage and also to the attempt to settle it. For him, it was absolutely evident that this was a war between the Republic of Moldova, which just recently obtained its independence and tried to assert it, and the Russian Federation and its armed forces.
Viorel Cibotaru believes this conflict appeared after the Soviet Union dismembered and elements of the national liberation movement took shape in Moldova. The modern political class started to be created then. The process of obtaining independence by Moldova was monitored so that this could be kept within the frame of the secret Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and within the new plans of reconstructing the Soviet Union, in a particular form. This is the basis of Russia’s current policies towards Moldova and its eastern districts.
According to the politician, we now witness a political conflict between the political class of Chisinau and the political elites of Tiraspol and the conflict resolution phase can be announced only by those who promote geopolitical interests.
The public debate “What are the chances of unfreezing the frozen Nistru conflict?” is the 71st installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are organized with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
