European Parliament urges Russia to stop its support for separatist regime in Tiraspol

The European Parliament has called on Russia to immediately stop its support for the Transnistrian regime, to reaffirm its commitment to Moldova's territorial integrity as defined by the Moldovan Constitution and to withdraw its troops, including their heavy weaponry and munitions, unconditionally, according to a resolution on situation in Transnistria, adopted with an absolute majority of votes. The European parliamentarians stress that the troops, under the decision taken at the 1999 OSCE Summit in Istanbul, should have been withdrawn by the end of 2002. Finally, Parliament calls on the Council to include this item on the agenda of the next European Union-Russia summit. The European Union strongly condemns the repression, harassment and intimidation of representatives of the independent media, citizens criticising the self-proclaimed Transnistrian authorities, and members of NGOs and of the opposition by the Transnistrian regime. It condemns the prohibition of funding of NGOs by foreign donors. The European Parliament deplores the unwillingness of this regime to engage fully in efforts to reach a peaceful and comprehensive solution to the Transnistria conflict and welcomes, therefore, the extension of the EU visa ban on members of the Transnistrian regime. At the same time, the European parliamentarians deeply deplore the fact that the self-proclaimed Transnistrian authorities, more than one-and-a-half years after the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Ilascu and others was delivered, continue to keep two applicants imprisoned. They call on the Moldovan authorities to continue their efforts towards putting an end to the unlawful and arbitrary detention of Mr. Andrei Ivantoc and Mr. Tudor Petrov-Popa and securing their immediate release. The House strongly urges the Russian authorities to pursue actively all effective avenues capable of putting an end to the unlawful and arbitrary detention of both prisoners and of securing their immediate release. Parliament calls on the Council, the European Commission and the Member States to plea for the immediate release of these prisoners. The European Parliament is convinced that reforms in Moldova will only be successful when they are carried out with respect for the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. It urges that all the parties concerned, including members of civil society, work together to foster the further development of the country's democracy. The Transnistrian problem worsened after Ukraine has introduced the new customs regime for the Transnistrian commodity flow at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. Earlier, the Austrian E.U. Presidency, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other institutions have released statements supporting the Chisinau government in the Transnistrian problem, in particular, as regards the implementation of the new customs regime at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, and they called for a peaceful settlement of the conflict and respect for Moldova’s territorial integrity.