The federalization of the Republic of Moldova, according to the model of the "Kozak plan", remains the ideal solution for Moscow to settle the Transnistrian conflict, historian Octavian Țîcu stated in a public debate titled “Russian factor in the Transnistrian conflict: past, present and future". According to him, since 1992, the Transnistrization of the economy has taken place in the Republic of Moldova, the enterprises on the left bank of the Nistru being advantaged to the detriment of those located on the right bank of the Nistru by the existence of free gas provided by Gazprom.
The historian explained that the 14th Army, located on the left bank of the Nistru, was transformed in 1995 into the Operational Group of Russian Forces, a military contingent that ensures the resilience of the separatist regime.
"The military composition and equipment of the former 14th Army, which became the Operational Group, have not changed much. Russia still controls all the weapons, including the Cobasna depot about which we don't know much, but can intuit. The presence of peacekeeping troops is a clear sign of Russia's involvement, but this also takes place with the complicity of the Republic of Moldova. Russia linked the withdrawal of this contingent and Russian troops to the political settlement of the conflict, which made it possible to maintain this contingent on the territory of the Republic of Moldova until now," said doctor of history Octavian Țîcu.
According to the historian, Russia did not give up the idea of federalizing the Republic of Moldova on the basis of the "Kozak plan", which was previously proposed as a model for settling the Transnistrian conflict. Octavian Țîcu explained that the "Kozak plan" would have meant the Transnistrization of the Republic of Moldova and the blocking of any initiatives aimed at the political future of the country.
"In 1993, there was a good plan to settle the conflict. I think it remains the best plan. It is the OSCE plan, which had very good components, but which was neglected. The ideal option for Russia to resolve this conflict is the "Kozak plan", the plan for the federalization of the Republic of Moldova and the creation of the Moldovan Federative Republic, with the maintenance of the Russian army and three federative components in Comrat, Tiraspol and Chisinau, with a bicameral Parliament and possibilities to block indefinitely the political future of the Republic of Moldova, with the Russian language as the official language and with everything we call Transnistrization. The version of this plan was rejected under pressure from the West, but for Russia the idea of federalization remains continuous. It remains Moscow's plan for resolving this conflict," said the historian.
He explained that the economy on the right bank of the Nistru is subjugated to Russia's interests as there is unfair competition between the enterprises on the two banks. As long as Gazprom provides the Transnistrian region with free gas, the process of Transnistrization of the economy of the Republic of Moldova will be maintained.
"Since 199,2 we have been progressively witnessing the Transnistrization of the economy of the Republic of Moldova and this takes place by maintaining Gazprom's monopoly on the energy sector and by the fact that Gazprom is a lever for subsidizing Transnistrian separatism. This is due to the fact that gas is offered free of charge to enterprises in the Transnistrian region, which in turn produce electricity or other goods that they export to the right bank of the Nistru or to the EU, and from these revenues the budget of the Transnistrian region is supplemented, including from the accounts of Russian oligarchs. Therefore, the Republic of Moldova is in a disadvantaged situation. Through this domination, the entire economy has been subjugated to the interests of the Russian Federation since 1992. The complexity of the Transnistrian phenomenon involves, more recently, votes and the influence of the electoral process. There is extensive Transnistrization of the Republic of Moldova from political, economic, electoral and social points of view," Octavian Țîcu pointed out.
The public debate entitled "Russian factor in the Transnistrian conflict: past, present and future" is part of the series of debates "Development of political culture through public debates". IPN Agency carries out this project with support from the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
