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US wants continued control over Transdniester settlement outcome
Transdniester status will be settled on Washington's terms or not at all. That was the implied message in a statement by the State Department's top man on Moldova. The United States already received assurances from President Vladimir Voronin that Moldova won't do a deal without closely coordinated American involvement.
Easy does it: Robert Boehme, the State Dept. pointman on Moldova, thinks outlines of a settlement are apparent. (File photo)WASHINGTON (Tiraspol Times) - Robert Boehme, head of the Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus desk at the US State Department, thinks a settlement is in sight which will squeeze Transdniester (officially: Pridnestrovie) into Moldova and enable Moldovan sovereignty to be exercised over its territorial claim.
Speaking at a recent conference at Georgetown University in Washington, Boehme claimed that final settlement in the Moldova-Pridnestrovie status talks was "just a question of timing and political will."
" - The outlines of a settlement are apparent," he said.
" - Hopefully if talks resume in the 5+2 format, they will be much more substantive than in the past," argued Robert W. Boehme.
According to the American diplomat, the US is happy about the cooperation with the EU and the OSCE, two organizations which have - just like the United States - consistently parroted Moldova's view of the conflict and its causes, and who have supported Moldovan strongarm tactics against Transdniester in the economic sphere.
But as many in Tiraspol point out, the Russian policy of dialogue and engagement is able to win more hearts and minds than America's policy of isolation; seen here as a misguided carbon copy of an approach which was tried with Cuba and failed. The US is not seeking to engage anyone from Transdniester in conflict settlement.
" - Moldova tries its best (and worst) to bend Transdniester’s arm, forcing its small neighbor into submission. But starting with the invasion in 1992, pressure tactics have never had any success," believes Michael Garner, an analyst and commentator who thinks Boehme is "delusional" if he honestly believes that the people of Transdniester can all of a sudden be browbeaten into submission after 17 years of holding out against all odds.
" - Without ever considering the only acceptable option — treating Tiraspol as an equal partner — Moldova is emboldened by vocal support from the West to keep stepping up the economic pressure in an attempt to force Transdniester into submission and make the people of the left bank kneel," says Garner.
- Transparency, in diplospeak
At the same time as the United States pledges unconditional support for one of the two sides in the conflict, the country also makes it clear that it will not accept to be sidelined.
As reported by the Moldova Foundation, the US has been concerned about speculation in the press regarding the possibility of "other arrangements between Russia and Moldova that might not reflect the goals of the other participants" (most notably, the United States).
The US State Department promptly ordered Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Kramer to Moldova for urgent consultations with Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin. Immediately, the State Department received his reassurances that any settlement would be "a transparent process" - diplomatic codespeak for "don't worry, you are still in control, Uncle Sam, and we wouldn't dare to do anything in our own country behind your back, let alone without letting you know first."
The American diplomat assured meeting participants of the close working relationship between the US and the government of Moldova. The US would like to see reforms implemented throughout Moldovan territory and is concerned about democracy in this process as well. He also claimed that the US had worked as much as possible with "the other bank," although no signs of a US willingness to engage in discussions with Tiraspol have yet been seen in "the place that can not be named."
The event, called "Frozen Conflicts in the ex-Soviet Union; Two-track Approach: Democratization and Multinational Peacekeeping Operations; The Case of Moldova” was held on April 26 and it was organized by the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies of Georgetown University and the Moldova Foundation.
In keeping with a long-standing Moldovan policy of exclusion, no official representatives of Transdniester were invited to explain their side of the story. (With information from Moldova Foundation)
See also:
» Memo to State: Face up to reality
» Moldova conference: Pridnestrovie's population in constant fear of KGB
A conference held at the European Parliament in Brussels concluded that unrecognized states like Pridnestrovie need a way to be heard by the world. "It is necessary to create and sustain permanent mechanisms of involvement and consultation of unrecognized state entities in the international community". This will benefit everyone, says the event's official statement. . . 
