Transnistria says new 5+2 talks sabotaged by Moldova

Empty tables in Madrid: Latest 5+2 meeting failed because Moldova refused to show, says Pridnestrovie's Foreign Ministry

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Accusations of double standards are flying across the Dniester river, as Pridnestrovie (also known informally as Transnistria) blamed Moldova for saying one thing but acting in a totally different way.

The issue: The first-ever status talks in more than a year and a half, which were supposed to be held last week in Madrid, but which had to be called off after Moldova announced that it wouldn't take part. Pridnestrovie had already confirmed its willingness to attend.

Last week, on 13 November 2007, a meeting was supposed to have taken place in Madrid, Spain, between representatives of the sides, mediators, and observers within the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Framework of the “5+2” Moldova-Pridnestrovie Settlement Negotiation Process.

The meeting was planned as the first of its kind ever since the talks were interrupted on 28 February 2006, when the representatives of Moldova unilaterally and abruptly abandoned an ongoing session.

Mediators want talks back on track

Ever since Moldova walked away from the status settlement talks, representatives of the three guarantor countries and mediators – Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE - as well as the two observers – the European Union and the United States – have tried to kickstart a resumption of the dialogue.

Over the past year, they have held numerous meetings without Moldova and Pridnestrovie, and have had talks directly with the sides on a one-on-one basis. But Moldova and Pridnestrovie have not sat down at the same table in the "5+2" format since early 2006, when Moldova walked out.

Hoping to restart formal contacts between Chisinau and Tiraspol in the “5+2” format, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, led an official delegation that visited the two capitals last month. In Tiraspol, the delegation spoke to the PMR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the unrecognized country's president, Igor Smirnov.

On 31 October 2007, Pridnestrovie received a written invitation from the OSCE Spanish Chairmanship to take part in the meeting of representatives from the sides, mediators, and observers within the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in Madrid.

A week later, on 6 November 2007, Pridnestrovie's Foreign Ministry confirmed in writing that it would be glad to participate in the meeting.

Refusal to take part

Initially, just like Pridnestrovie, Moldova had also said that it wanted to resume the 5+2 status settlement talks, that it accepted the OSCE invitation just as Pridnestrovie had already done, and that it was willing to go the Madrid.

But at the last moment, as the organizational matters of venue and time were being coordinated, the Moldovan delegation, in the person of Moldovan Minister of Reintegration Vasile Sova, refused to take part in the Madrid meeting, according to an official statement by Pridnestrovie's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This, says the statement, means that "Chisinau once again demonstrated its adherence to “double standards” approaches to settlement of relations with Tiraspol: in word declaring one thing, but in deed practicing quite another."

" - The situation of breaking the Madrid meeting ranges among the refusal of the Moldovan president to sign the Kozak Memorandum," continue the missive. "It demonstrates once again to the international community the real policy of the Moldovan authorities aimed at exerting pressure on Pridnestrovie, infringing on the rights of Pridnestrovian citizens, and forcing Pridnestrovie to accept Chisinau’s terms."

Accusations of Moldova double standards

While Moldova on one hand speaks of conciliation and better relations with what it calls Transnistria (officially, Pridnestrovie), the actual actions of the Moldovan regime shows a different reality, says Pridnestrovie.

" - Undoubtedly, real steps of the Republic of Moldova – restrictions for Pridnestrovian vehicles, attempts to interfere with the constitutional rights of Russian citizens, economic sanctions, and other counterproductive actions – prove the inability of the Moldovan leadership to conduct a constructive dialogue on the settlement of relations between Moldova and Pridnestrovie," says Pridnestrovie's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

" - Under the circumstances, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pridnestrovie expresses regret over the Moldovan side’s position and believes that the breakdown of the Madrid meeting will have a negative effect on the prospects for Moldova-Pridnestrovie settlement."

" - PMR MFA once again draws attention of the international community to the refusal of the Republic of Moldova to engage in real work and reiterates the need to work out an effective international mechanism of guarantees against arbitrariness and failure of the Moldovan authorities to implement agreements in political, economic, and other areas."

Pridnestrovie now plans on bipartite cooperation with the two guarantor countries – Russia and Ukraine – and pins its hopes on what its Foreign Ministry calls "an adequate and tough assessment of the actions of the Moldovan leadership, which blocks a final settlement of Moldova-Pridnestrovie relations."

See also:
» Russia mediates between Moldova, Pridnestrovie over stalled status talks
» For Transdnister, status settlement talks with Moldova will be about independence
» Vitaliy Ignatiev: "Status settlement needs unbiased, impartial mediation"