Independent Transdniestria good for Moldova

An independent Transdniestria is in Moldova’s best interests. Maintaining status quo would give rise to instability and will lock both sides into a never-ending cycle of poverty and economic stand-offs.

The status of Transdniestria will be settled: Transdniestria must be granted independence.

It is time for Moldovan political leaders to admit the truth that Chisinau lost Transdniestria when it engaged in a war on its own people and committed crimes against citizens in 1992.

Moldova has to go beyond a sheer rejection of independence, and its leaders must stop telling people that independence for Transdniestria is never going to happen.

The West should never stop from trying to assist Moldova on its path towards a better future, and this future must entail both respect and goodwill towards those who live east of the Dniester river.

Tiraspol sincerely wishes a peaceful, prosperous future for Moldova and hopes that Moldova will never regress to its old policy of initiating war.

Moldova deserves better than that.

Ordinary Moldovans understand the truth and acknowledge the reality well, and they are often ahead of their leadership in that respect.

The only viable option is for Transdniestria to become recognized as an independent state under international supervision.

Without a solution on Transdniestria's final status, the future of Moldova and Transdniestria will remain uncertain.

The West must constructively engage with Russia, Ukraine and Moldova in the process of finding a solution to Transdniestria's status which matches the democratic desire and aspirations of the Transdniestrian people.

Due to its history as a non-Moldovan territory, Transdniestria and Moldova were only joined together after a Soviet invasion and as a result of the World War II's Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Moldova has itself repudiated the Soviet invasion and has called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact null and void "ab initio". This makes independence for Transdniestria a unique situation, without precedent for other regions.

Transdniestria is a unique situation that requires a creative solution. As a result of how it came to be joined with Moldova in the first place, and Moldova's own annullment of this act, Transdniestria can not create a precedent for other unresolved conflicts. When Moldova declared its independence on the basis of the illegality of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, it laid the groundwork for a political process that would ultimately determine Transdniestria's future.

Viable alternatives to Transdniestria’s independence do not exist. Moldova must recognize that the greater stability promoted by a peaceful transition to recognized Transdniestrian independence will allow it to become a regional player and a major trading partner with Europe's newest country.

The conflict should be solved on the wish of what the people want, and the vote of the directly affected people - those in Transdniestria - is what matters here.

Moldova can easily get by with "losing" the Transdniestria and its industrial base: Because it never really had it in the first place.

The industry of Transdniestria only mattered to what was called the MSSR in Soviet times, and even then it was centrally controlled by Moscow anyway. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the industry of Transdniestria played no role whatsoever in the economy of the Republic of Moldova. From 1990 onwards, Chisinau had no control over it and derived no benefit from it. By letting Transdniestria become formally free and independent, what will Moldova lose? Nothing that it ever had.

Instead, the immediate prosperity that will follow a peaceful status settlement will be an instant win-win as the two sides kiss and make up. Good fences make good neighbors, and the world has plenty of historical precedents to show that this is true.

Look at Ireland and the United Kingdom, which today are both prosperous and close trading partners. Would that had happened if Ireland had not gotten its independence?

Look also at Singapore and Malaysia: Same thing. Both of them are Asian success stories and close trading partners. Yet most people forget that right after Singapore broke free of Malaysia, there was fear of a possible Malaysian invasion in the first few years of hard-won independence.

Trade and freedom is always the best way to build a future, and that means respect for the legitimate desires of the other side.

The Moldovan people deserve an end to the conflict. And the Transdniestrians have waited 17 years to become recognized and part of the family of nations. Both sides are ready for a win-win solution.

Columnist Michael Garner is a regular contributor to The Tiraspol Times & Weekly Review. He had a detailed look at why Transdniestria would not set a precedent in international law in his article "No precedents in the unique case of Transdniester"