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MP Konstantin Kosachev from the "United Russia" party, left, signs a cooperation agreement with Yevgeny Shevchuk from "Renewal"

MOSCOW (Tiraspol Times) - Known as "The Bears" of Russia, the United Russia party is the country's largest. Less than a week before parliamentary elections, the party teamed up with Pridnestrovie's Renewal party in a deal where the two parties will help each other politically and electorally.

The agreement was signed in Moscow on Monday by the head of Pridnestrovie's Renewal party (Obnovlenie, in Russia), the country's Speaker of Parliament Yevgeny Shevchuk and for the United Russia party (Yedinaya Rossiya), MP Konstantin Kosachev, member of the party's leadership and chairman of the International Affairs Committee of Russia's State Duma, the country's lower house of parliament.

According to the official web-site of United Russia, Konstantin Kosachev said that "the signing of this agreement marks a new stage in relations between Russia and Pridnestrovie," but added that "the Renewal party and the United Russia party have been cooperating actively for many years."

The logos of the two political parties: Top, United Russia, with the colors of the Russian flag. Bottom, Renewal from Pridnestrovie, with the red and green of PMR's flag.

United Russia is seen as the key party of Russian president Vladimir Putin, whereas Renewal represents the largest single internal opposition party to Pridnestrovie president Igor Smirnov. This did not prevent the two from collaborating, and it is known that the Smirnov family supports a more leftist Russian party, Fair Russia. For this election, the party has fielded Smirnov's daughter-in-law, Pridnestrovie-born Marina Smirnova, as a Duma candidate.

One of the goals: Status settlement

In the opinion of United Russia, the agreement will help move Pridnestrovie closer to a status settlement deal with Moldova that will take the interests of Pridnestrovie's population into account. An overwhelming majority of the population prefers independent statehood and rejects any talk of forced union with Moldova.

Renewal has previously declared that it seeks internationally recognized independence for Pridnestrovie. It has also stated that the 'de facto' divorce which already exists with Moldova should be formalized.

" - Relations between the United Russia party and the Renewal party now enter a new stage, which will help promote a status settlement for the state and advocate the rights and interests of Russian citizens living in Pridnestrovie," says United Russia's Konstantin Kosachev.

Russia claims to look after the interest of its citizens who live abroad. The Russians who live outside of Russia's border are known as "compatriots" in official parlance. Konstantin Kosachev said, "The state policy on compatriots is not a campaign or canvassing. It’s a strategically important choice of our country. The purpose of the forthcoming parliamentary elections is to reaffirm the state policy on compatriots as well."

Elections for Parliament in Russia will be held on 2 December 2007. The Russian community, made up of both expatriates and local-born Russians, number approximately a third of the population in Pridnestrovie. More than 166,000 people in Pridnestrovie are ethnic Russians, and some 100,000 of them have the right to vote. (With information from vspmr.org)

See also:
» Transdniestria's opposition-led Parliament squares off against President Smirnov [1]
» Divorce with Moldova should be formalized, says PMR Speaker [2]
» Yevgeny Shevchuk: "We want to treat each other with respect" [3]