Today, the Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting of Deputy Foreign Minister of the PMR Alexandr Stetsiuk with a group of foreign students who visited the Republic under support of the non-profit organisation Delegations For Dialogue. The delegation that arrived at the Foreign Ministry included students from higher educational institutions of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria and other countries.
For reference: Delegations For Dialogue is a non-profit organization registered in London, which mission is to provide future generations of leaders with the opportunity to interact directly with issues at the forefront of international affairs. Each year DfD organises a series of travelling symposiums, programmes and sports & cultural diplomacy bringing young people from around the world. The organisation contributes to a direct dialogue with a wide range of politicians, representatives of academia, business, media and civil society.
Answering guests’ questions during the conversation Alexandr Stetsiuk touched upon some particular foreign policy and socio-economic aspects of the current situation in Pridnestrovie. Foreign students, in particular, were interested in the Republic’s international contacts, including relations with the Russian Federation, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the main challenges facing the PMR at the present stage, the Russian peacekeeping operation and the human rights situation in the PMR.
A special focus was on issues of interaction with the Republic of Moldova and prospects for the development of the Pridnestrovian statehood. As noted by Alexandr Stetsiuk, the Pridnestrovie’s position in the conflict settlement negotiation process with Moldova is ‘quite distinct and clear’ and based on the will of the Pridnestrovian people, expressed during the 2006 referendum, when the absolute majority of citizens voted for the country’s independence. “For 25 years, attempts to ‘fit-in’ us into the Republic of Moldova have been accompanied only by other crises, conflict escalations and have not led to anything good. Therefore, I see no alternative to the development of Pridnestrovie as a sovereign state” – the diplomat noted.
At the end of the meeting, Alexandr Stetsiuk expressed hope that the discussion will have high applied significance for all its participants as regards formation of objective vision of Pridnestrovie among the youth of foreign countries.
