"Simplified ideas" and use of force against Pridnestrovie rejected at OSCE summit

The 14th OSCE Ministerial Council in Brussels ended with no final statement (Photo: OSCE Belga/Benoit Doppagne)

BRUSSELS (Tiraspol Times) - At the 14th OSCE Ministerial Council in Brussels, the foreign minister of Russia came out in favor of realism and rejected what he called "simplified ideas", in an apparent reference to a misleadingly false mischaracterization of the Moldova - Transdniestria conflict by US State Department envoy Nicholas Burns.

Rather than being about cooperation as the name implies, the OSCE is in fact "as a vehicle for advancing one-sided politicized approaches", said Lavrov.

" - The OSCE still continues to be used as a platform where it is possible to try to push forward one-sided politicized approaches to the certain 'frozen conflicts' that have nothing in common with the real efforts for their lasting settlement. Experience confirms: such actions lead only to a growth of tension and distrust and throw settlement back," said Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. "One must not replace the need to seek fulfillment by the sides of their obligations with simplified ideas."

" - We must all be guided by the basic principles for settlement of regional conflicts. Among them: respect for the Helsinki Final Act; agreements to be reached by the parties in conflict themselves; unconditional consideration of the positions of each of them; inadmissibility of force-based options; care of the existing negotiation and peacekeeping formats; gradual settlement presupposing the priority of confidence building measures, and the forging of dialogue between the sides; and concern that the people who have found themselves in the conflict zones should not feel isolated."

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, is a leading trans-Atlantic security group which was founded during the Cold War to concentrate on disarmament. With the end of the Cold War, however, the OSCE has expanded into election monitoring, human rights, and numerous other areas which often overlap with the work of other international organizations. Among its work since 1993, through a mission under exclusive American leadership since that date, has been efforts to work out a lasting status settlement to the Moldova/Pridnestrovie problem and prevent a repeat of Moldova's 1992 invasion of the unrecognized country.

Despite this mandate, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the OSCE of one-sided efforts to push through what he called "politicized solutions" to conflicts in former Soviet republics. He also criticized the group's election monitoring, which he said must guarantee equal treatment to all countries observed.

Istanbul commitments misportrayed?

In his speech to the summit, Lavrov said that a critical situation has evolved with the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe: "Year after year our partners have failed to honor the central Istanbul commitment: to the early ratification of the Agreement on Adaptation of the CFE Treaty. The NATO countries' line on barring the entry into force of this Agreement has called into question the viability of the Treaty itself."

" - The so called Istanbul Commitments are very often being used for speculation, because they are continuously linked to ratification of the Agreement on the adapted CFE Treaty. There was no link in Istanbul between conflict settlement in Georgia and Moldova and the ratification of the adapted CFE Treaty. Enough to have a look at the documents. Unlike those who do this linkage, we read those documents and have not forgotten about them. Hence all have to ratify the adapted CFE Treaty, yet our western partners evade that. The conflicts in Georgia and Moldova have to be settled, of course. Where our commitments are concerned, we are clean before all our partners," stated Foreign Minister Lavrov.

" - As to Transnistria, the removal of ammunition and withdrawal of the units that guard them was proceeding rapidly in 2003. More than 50 trainloads were taken out of the region. Later this withdrawal was discontinued in a situation where the settlement process had become totally deadlocked. Unfortunately, the leadership of Moldova unilaterally stopped this process and has since undertaken a whole series of unilateral measures which have only antagonized the Transnistrian side. Under such conditions it is clear that to resume the settlement process would have been difficult. Now, hopefully, shifts have emerged in this matter. There was a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Voronin. I am regularly in contact with my Moldovan counterpart. If we resume the settlement process, for which purpose the consequences of certain unilateral Moldovan moves have to be overcome, and if this proceeds in the normal course, then ammunition removal from Transnistria will also be resumed."

According to its constitution, the official name of Transnistria is Pridnestrovie, but the unrecognized country is often also called Transdniester, after the English name for the river which forms the border with Moldova. The constitution was approved in 1995 by a majority of the citizens in a public referendum.

OSCE conference ends without joint communique

The two-day ministerial meeting ended in Brussels Tuesday without adopting a joint communique. The focus of the two-day meeting was tackling protracted 'frozen' conflicts in the former Soviet Union and further improving OSCE efficiency. Belgium is now handing over the rotating chairmanship of the 56-member OSCE to Spain.

Analysts noted a Cold War atmosphere of the seventies prevailing at the conference with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accusing the United States of abusing its superpower status to impose its will on the international community. Russia accuses the US of exploiting the situation in Georgia and Moldova to interfere in its near abroad, and Russian analysts have often asked what the US reaction would be if Russia acted the same way in countries that have close proximity to the United States and where large number of American citizens live.

Six countries in the region joined Russia to call for the OSCE to return to its roots and to concentrate on disarmament.

In Pridnestrovie, OSCE is often seen as being partial to one side of the conflict - Moldova - and not willing to consider the other side's arguments. Although committed to the free movement of goods and people, the OSCE has not condemned what Pridnestrovie considers an economic blockade. Since March 3, Ukraine and Moldova has enforced a coordinated action on customs measures aimed at forcing Pridnestrovie's exporters to submit to Moldovan legislation. Similar measures are generally condemned by Western allies when they take place elsewhere. At the OSCE summit, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet admonished, “Unilateral sanctions and blockades are anachronistic tools." (With information from IRNA)

See also:
» East and West trade harsh words over Transdniester at OSCE summit in Brussels