Tiraspol hosts round-table talks in Moldova - Transdniestria conflict

For the first time ever, Pridnestrovie's capital Tiraspol (shown) hosted round-table talks between the two sides in the conflict

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - While official negotiations between Moldova and Transdniestria are still on hold, civil society groups from both banks of the Dniester are meeting for direct face-to-face talks in the meantime.

Round-table talks were held in Transdniestria's capital Tiraspol this Friday under the auspices of the nearby British Embassy and with the participation of the OSCE, a formal mediator in the government-level "5+2" talks involving Moldova and Transdniestria.

The informal round table talks in Tiraspol brought together non-governmental organizations from both Moldova and Transdniestria (officially named Pridnestrovie, as per its constitution). The event was part of the program "Transdniestrian Dialogues" which is a project co-sponsored by the Embassy of Great Britain and by the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova.

Gottfried Hanne, the acting Head of Mission of the OSCE in Moldova, was also present at the meeting, along with Moldova's Andrei Popov, Director of the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova.

Moldova boycot and non-recognition

From Transdniestria, political youth group Proriv ("Breakthrough") participated, alongside Mikhail Kushakov and head of the political science department Ilya Galinskiy, both from the Pridnestrovian State University (PSU) in Tiraspol. Andrey Safonov, former presidential candidate and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Pridnestrovie, an opposition party, also spoke at the meeting.

Online news agency Lenta PMR in Tiraspol reported that the meeting was a sign of thaw in the "frozen conflict". It pointed out that the choice of venue, Tiraspol, was significant and that it represented a coming-together of the parties in more ways than one. According to the news agency, "holding such a round table event in Tiraspol would have been practically impossible in the past."

Since 1990, Tiraspol has been the capital of the 'de facto' independent Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (PMR). Earlier, Tiraspol was also the capital of the MASSR, an autonomous republic which existed from 1924 to 1940 and which did not include any part of today's Moldova. Officially, the Moldovan government does not recognize Tiraspol as the capital of anything.

Pro-independence youth leader Alena Arshinova says talks are needed because "the Moldovan Pridnestrovian conflict can not last for eternity..."

Although invited, no government officials or public employees from Moldova attended the talks.

Talks necessary because "conflict can't last for eternity"

Alena Arshinova, head of the civil society youth group "Breakthrough", said that Transdniestria's youth want independence through peaceful territorial change with Moldova.

" - We stand firm on our position with respect to independence and closer ties to Russia. Our organization supports sovereignty, but we don't support war," she said, and made it clear that "we don't want to look at our adversaries through a rifle scope," which is why talks are necessary to find common ground.

" - This is why we sit down at this table, both to clearly state our point of view and also to hear the opinions of others," Arshinova said.

" - The Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict can not last for eternity, and these sort of round table events make it possible to discuss our current problems in a free situation, to listen to the points of view of each side, to hear what experts have to say, and to reach useful conclusions," explained the pro-independence youth leader.

" - It is really important that the two sides are restarting their informal talks so close to the time when there will be a decision on Kosovo's future. We see this as a positive sign," Tiraspol-resident Arshinova said.

See also:
» Transdniester and Moldova meet for 5-sided talks
» U.S. Ambassador visits Tiraspol to urge fresh talks between Moldova and PMR
» Russia mediates between Moldova, Pridnestrovie over stalled status talks