Vitaly Ignatiev on Television Project “Public Diplomacy”: Eurasian Integration Will Ensure Security of the State and Protection of Rights of the Pridnestrovian People

07/10/12

Pridnestrovie by virtue of its format and in view of geopolitical reasons is a state which is forced to choose the most optimal waterway and to rely on powerful trends, tendencies and certainly on tendencies of the European integration. These mighty processes that we see today in our region-wide space, as well as in Moldova and Ukraine are sure to render direct influence on Pridnestrovie. And here we observe eastern tendency.



Eurasian integration gains momentum, and in such circumstances we will certainly take advantage of the whole arsenal and the whole range of opportunities which unclose before us in order to choose those waterway that would provide safety and stability of our state and first of all interests and protection of the rights of our people, our Pridnestrovian population.



I would like to address thesis specified by Yuri Grigoryevich regarding the fact that Pridnestrovie is offered to integrate into Europe together with Moldova. Unfortunately, Pridnestrovie is definitely not offered to integrate into Europe and certainly not together with Moldova. Uniting and reintegrating with Moldova is the only proposal which has been made to Pridnestrovie throughout 20 years without any alternative. I want to mark that European experts also have quite reasonable doubts about the future format of the Republic of Moldova. Political elite and population of Moldova also have different positions and views of their perspectives, and if political class believes that European integration is a priority, then the form and format of its final implementation remains certainly the question of time, since there are gates of Romania for Moldova. This factor and mechanism, as well as the idea to integrate with Moldova are unacceptable for Pridnestrovie.



What is meant here is building and legitimization in integration recognition of that real fact and that conquered state which we have reached in the course of more than 20 years of independent state development. And I would like to draw attention to the fact that in the framework of the European integration Pridnestrovie has opportunities and separate economic areas, but European representatives don't offer Pridnestrovie alternative variants and the possibility to choose. Unfortunately, we are by default offered some very implicit variant: those processes taking place in line of analysis and in line of negotiations within deep and free trade area with Moldova and the European Union have shown that even at the level of expert preliminary evaluations and analysis there is no place for Pridnestrovie. 



Pridnestrovie is already not analyzed from the viewpoint of economic statistics and analysis of risks, challenges, benefits, preferences, not to mention absence of the vision and understanding in what way this can be realized given the present-day reality and with regard to the fact that in the framework of political process we are focused on the solution of concrete old economic problems, and questions relating to status, political questions – these are questions of the future which can be solved only after achieving concrete promotion of concrete results at the level of expert groups, inter alia when certain climate of trust which is extremely necessary for approach of political level is achieved. Therefore it is indeed a very complicated problem, and I think that reality itself fails to offer very wide range of options for Pridnestrovie.



I would like to pay attention to the factor of regional security which is the peacekeeping operation and peace on the Dniester. Exactly this factor is the basis, inter alia for political settlement. Exactly this today allows us to gradually solve railway problem and search for the ways of settling issues in transport, social and humanitarian sphere, in line of healthcare, education and other spheres.



In my opinion, this factor is also very essential in our region. We know Russia's initiative to build common space of European security. We know tacit reaction of Europe and we see what is taking place in the process of deployment of elements of American missile defense system in Romania which is to be over in 2015. We see Moldova's active involvement in integration processes with NATO structures. All these are factors directly affecting geopolitical format of the whole region. These are factors which are seen as challenges from the point of view of hard security. Of course, this will influence the choice of the waterway and Pridnestrovie's final way in the context of integration strategy. This should also be kept in mind. I think, the whole range of these elements puts really a very topical and serious question before Pridnestrovie, “Will development of this concept and this strategy become a national idea?”



To my mind, it will, because our future depends on this, as well as living conditions of our children and our interests, interests of our population, since as it was fairly marked our enterprises during many years lose much in economy. They are under constant pressing which is of diverse and multilevel character. Of course, in these circumstances we will be obviously faced with a dilemma: what is more important – interests of several enterprises or interests of half a million people? I think we will be able to combine solution of these issues in the framework of Eurasian integration vector. 



-KUVgpufuI