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Yevgeny Shevchuk, 39, is the Speaker of Pridnestrovie's Parliament and head of the country's largest opposition party

MOSCOW (Tiraspol Times) - During a visit to Moscow, PMR Parliamentary Speaker Yevgeny Shevchuk refused to rule out any possibilities over his country's future. The Pridnestrovie-born politician said that anything is possible, including the option of a common state with Moldova at some point in the future if relations between the two sides improve.

" - We should bear in mind the memorandum of 1997 [on the fundamentals of a normalization between the Republic of Moldova and Transdniestria]. According to that memorandum, Transdniestria assumed the obligation to consider a joint state with Moldova," said Shevchuk, 39, who is also the leader of Pridnestrovie's largest opposition party, Renewal.

The 1997 memorandum, which is known as the Primakov Memorandum after Russia's Foreign Minister at the time who brokered the deal, lets Pridnestrovie have free foreign trade. As of March 2006, Moldova broke the agreement by instituting new rules which in effect amount to a customs blockade on exports. Nevertheless, Pridnestrovie has still not withdrawn from the 1997 agreement, which remains in force between the two sides.

" - In fact, that document did not say whether it should be a federation, a confederation or a union. Hence, Transdniestria has not rejected that agreement and has never said it is invalid," news agency Interfax quoted Shevchuk as saying.

1997 deal broken by Moldova, but still in force

" - We should watch the policy of the Moldovan authorities and see if they are able to resolve the problem of our relations constructively," he added.

" - If positive trends develop, there will be fewer tensions between us. Then we can discuss our future steps," he said.

The framework for a federation or confederation consisting of Moldova and Pridnestrovie will have to be built from scratch, based on new negotiations and equality of the two sides. Two previous documents which envisioned a confederation or a federative state with Moldova were officially annulled by the Shevchuk-led Parliament in February 2007, and Pridnestrovie's Foreign Policy Objectives of 2005 define the republic as a sovereign and independent state.

A common state with Moldova is against the wishes of the majority of Pridnestrovie's population, including most of the approximately one-third of residents who are ethnic Moldovans but who generally support independence for Pridnestrovie.

In September 2006, the new and emerging country held a referendum in which 94% of voters rejected unification with Moldova, and 97% support the continuation of independence and closer ties with Russia instead.

Kosovo precedent being watched

While not ruling out an eventual formation of a joint state with Moldova at some point in the future, Shevchuk also clearly stated that Pridnestrovie (informally: Transdniestria) is pursuing its existing plans towards internationally recognized independent statehood. Among other precedents, the government is closely following developments in the Serbian province of Kosovo.

The potential recognition of independent Kosovo will imply the possibility of self-determination for Transdniestria, speaker of the unrecognized republic's parliament Yevgeny Shevchuk said in an interview published in the Thursday issue of the newspaper Kommersant.

" - If they recognize that territory and declare that it is the Albanian nation's right to self-determination, a question will arise: why don't Transdniestrian citizens, who also live in Europe and have held independence referenda, have this right?" he asked.

See also:
» In Transdniester, previous plans for union with Moldova now formally cancelled [1]
» Transnistria's parliament nixes common state with Moldova [2]

Opinion and commentary:
» Bridging the Dniester will require tolerance and mutual respect [3]