[0]

Instead of seeking international support, PMR's Foreign Minister lashed out against Bulgaria and Romania; calling them "lice"

SOFIA (Tiraspol Times) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sofia, Bulgaria, is upset ... and so is Romania. These two countries, who are the newest members of the European Union (EU), have been referred to as "lice" by Pridnestrovie's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Valeri Litskai.

If they had diplomatic relations with Pridnestrovie, they would now consider breaking them -- but they don't, and they are also unlikely to want to have diplomatic relations with the small and unrecognized state of Pridnestrovie at any time soon.

Not known internationally for his grasp of diplomatic finesse, PMR Foreign Minister Valeri Litskai caused the ruckus by stating in an interview with Russian newspaper Vremya Novostei that Romania and Bulgaria are "America's lice".

Litskai spoke of alleged NATO usage of “small states” and specifically named Romania and Bulgaria. US troops are dispatched to such countries to use them as "lice" to provoke and irritate "the Russian bear", he said.

In his newspaper interview, Litskai referred to the fact that as new NATO members, Romania and Bulgaria have allowed the United States to establish a total of seven permanent bases on their national territories. The seven bases, which house some 5,000 American troops and scores of fighter planes, provide permanent American control over this part of Eastern Europe.

In the case of Bulgaria, it is the first time that the country has ever authorized the stationing of foreign forces on its soil. Even during the Cold War, when the country was an ally of the now-extinct Soviet Union, no Soviet troops were allowed in the country and no Soviet bases were maintained within Bulgaria for reasons of sovereignty.

" - Back in the days of the Cold War, the Americans used to say that Bulgaria was an East Bloc vassal state and a Soviet satellite behind the Iron Curtain," says Michael Garner, a political analyst.

An online news agency showed PMR Foreign Minister Valeri Litskai wearing his "clown suit"; the traditional gala uniform for so-called Diplomatic Workers.

" - But look at reality: They were actually more independent back then than they are today. So at least in that sense, Litskai is right. At least they didn't allow the Soviets to put troops there, but now they allow the Americans to do it. So it is not unfair to call them an American satellite state or vassal state, considering that this was exactly the same sort of rhetoric that the our own side used against them less than twenty years ago."

Clown suit

Predictably, the Romanian and Bulgarian press reacted with disgust, noting that no one likes to be called "lice" and that there are other, more diplomatic ways for a foreign minister to express his concerns, views or disagreements over any given issue.

Poking fun at Pridnestrovie's Foreign Minister, the online Romanian news agency HotNews showed their readers a photograph of Valeri Litskai in his "clown suit". Although it looks embarrassingly comical, the dress is actually a sort of morning coat which has traditionally been used on special occasions as the uniform of so-called "Diplomatic Workers" in Soviet diplomacy.

Valeri Litskai, 58, is a graduate of the Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow. At the time when Litskai was enrolled, the school's primary goal was to help nations of the Third World at the height of the Cold War, providing higher education as well as a KGB training ground for young communists from developing countries. After graduation, Litskai served in a diplomatic position for two years in Cuba, and is fluent in Spanish.

Some analysts point out that his bombastic style is typical of Cuban diplomacy, with its confrontational and aggressive elements that often take the place of traditional, conciliatory relations.

" - The tone of the foreign policy of a new regime is directly affected by whomever sets the policy agenda," says Houman Sadri, author of Revolutionary States, Leaders, and Foreign Relations. "The idealists are related to a more confrontational foreign policy and the realists a less confrontational policy."

Based on Sadri's analysis, Valeri Litskai would be an idealist whereas the members of Pridnestrovie's parliament - where the foreign policy of the new country is determined - are realists.

Win friends, influence people

According to Pridnestrovie's official foreign policy concept, which was passed by parliament in 2005, relations with other countries must be based on mutual respect:

" - Pridnestrovie seeks to become a full subject of international law and establishes its relations with other subjects of the international system on the basis of equal rights, cooperation, mutual respect, and partnerships," reads one of the initial paragraphs of the document which determines how the PMR Ministry of Foreign Affairs must conduct its work.

" - But one thing is what is supposed to happen, and something else is reality," says a mid-level official who spoke off the record. "It would be good for everyone if our public servants could begin to serve the people. We are alone and isolated in the world, so we need to win over friends and influence people." She added that it is hard to make new friends by calling them "lice", and that a new and more conciliatory approach to diplomacy is needed if Pridnestrovie can ever hope to obtain support of some of the EU's newest members.

Pridnestrovie is actively seeking international diplomatic recognition of its 'de facto' independent statehood.

The largely Russian-speaking Pridnestrovie - which unlike Moldova is populated by two-thirds Slavs - broke away from Moldova in 1990, shortly before Moldova itself declared independence from the Soviet Union. Historically, Pridnestrovie has never been part of Moldova.

In an independence referendum held on 17 September 2006, more than 97% of PMR's electorate voted in favor of independence and rejected a union state with Moldova.

The Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (PMR) meets all the requirements for statehood under international law. It has a permanent population equivalent to Montenegro's, the world's newest U.N. member. For the past seventeen years, the PMR has had sovereign control of a territory which is larger than 10% of other countries in the world. Pridnestrovie has its own flag, national anthem, coat of arms, postage stamps, passports, car plates, border control and police force. It also has a Supreme Court and a Central Bank which issues its own currency, the PMR Ruble.

See also:
» Foreign policy objectives urge other countries to recognize Pridnestrovie's nation building efforts [1]
» Washington calls 5,500 U.S. troops "hardly any" but 1,200 Russians in PMR must go [2]
» Described as "lethargic," PMR foreign policy comes under scrutiny [3]
» New face set to replace Transnistria's Foreign Minister [4]
» Bumps in the road for Pridnestrovie's foreign policy [5]

On the web:
» In detail: The foreign policy of Pridnestrovie [6]