Moldova’s Ambassador to Austria and Slovakia Victor Osipov considers it is not productive for Moldova to wait for magical solutions from the OSCE or any other international organization for resolving the Transnistrian dispute. “At the same time, they offer us a unique chance to do so that “the balance of interests” takes into account the Republic of Moldova too and foils any attempt to undermine our national interests. I’m sure that if we ourselves find more efficient methods to achieve the reintegration desideratum, the OSCE and other international partners will do more to support us,” stated Victor Osipov, who is also the Permanent Representative to the OSCE, the UN and other International Organizations in Vienna, IPN reports.
“There is always place for the better, for all the players. There are “reserves” to increase the efficiency, alternative ideas, etc. As regards the OSCE, I think it should focus more on the national interests of the Republic of Moldova, which is a participating state and which on its territory faces problems and phenomena that flagrantly violate its integrity and international law. I yet know very well that the organization, by definition, has particular limits in the promotion of an approach, which is related to the exclusive interest of a participating state and can base its actions only on the “balance of interests”,” Victor Osipov stated in an interview for www.lact.ro, Laboratory for the Transnistrian Conflict Analysis – a research program of the “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu.
The ambassador said that since 2009 until now, he has actively monitored or cooperated, depending on the occupied posts, with all the countries that held the OSCE Chairmanship, including Greece, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Ireland, Ukraine, Switzerland, Serbia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovakia and currently Albania. The profile of these states is very different, as are their foreign policy, the distance between them and the Republic of Moldova, interdependences and interests in their foreign policy. And this should reveal a thing that is invisible for most of the people, additional difficulties encountered by diplomats in the promotion of the national interests depending on their discussion partners that are in a position of force at a particular stage.
“The chairmanship of the OSCE, even if it’s rotating, has a decisive impact on the management of the organization throughout the annual mandate. It should be noted that our diplomacy in the mentioned period managed to maintain the protracted conflict in the eastern part of the Republic of Moldova on the agenda of the OSCE and other international organizations. At particular moments, it even excelled given the over-reduced weight and limited resources. I consider the secret resides in the perseverance of the state authorities that should exclude the discounts on the national interests and should be consistent in their domestic and foreign policy. In this connection, the diplomats enjoy solid assistance in promoting the national interests even with small resources. Without exaggerating the general quality of these documents, I will remind that during many years already, the OSCE Ministerial Council has managed to adopt a statement on the development of negotiations only concerning the Transnistrian conflict and no other active or protracted conflict. This way, at the highest level possible in the OSCE, all the participating states confirm their adherence to the main principle of the potential settlement: respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders. And this is not insignificant,” stated Victor Osipov.
Asked about the development of the dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol, the former Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration said that this is a sporadic process. It is an uncertain process as regards its potential political result within which the Government of the Republic of Moldova centers mainly on the solving of different problems generated by the conflict, faced by the population from both sides of the Nistru. “This approach is correct primarily from the humanitarian viewpoint and also as regards the building of the confidence of the population from the left side of the Nistru in the right side and in the political administration in Chisinau. At the same time, it is evident that this is a less productive method for the definitive settlement of the conflict or for even current problems, such as the human rights and others,” stated the official.
According to Victor Osipov, an evident characteristic of such a process consists in the fact that the separatist authorities regularly cause new crisis situations after which all the negotiations and efforts of the international partners center on their resolution. When the problems are solved, their authors benefit. Those who caused them are freed from the pressure exerted by society to which an existential or another solution is offered for a period of time. In such conditions, when everyone works implicitly to ensure its comfort, I don’t see how the unconstitutional Transnistrian administration can have a motivation to negotiate the definite political settlement of the conflict.
