Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Vitaly Ignatiev met with participants of the fourth session of the “Russian school of policy” being held in Moscow from 24 to 30 April 2016. During his speech, Vitaly Ignatiev told in detail about the current geopolitical situation around Pridnestrovie, the foreign policy course of the republic, as well as the state of the negotiation process with the Republic of Moldova.
In particular, the head of the Foreign Ministry stressed that the republic has finally formed as an independent international entity for more than 25 years of its existence. Along with this, according to the head of the Foreign Ministry, a special supranational identity has been formed in Pridnestrovie. In this context, as Vitaly Ignatiev said, formal approaches to the problems of the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict and in general to the phenomenon of Pridnestrovie, previously considered as relevant and viable – such as resuscitating the project of a single state within the boundaries of the MSSR are now outdated.
Commenting on the situation around Pridnestrovie, the diplomat said that the country is in the comprehensive blockade imposed by neighbouring countries. According to the head of the MFA, Kishinev, and Kiev since 2014, implement the strategy of “non-military” suppression of the Pridnestrovian statehood. Vitaly Ignatiev said that the restrictive measures applied to Pridnestrovie affect almost all the strategically important areas of life of the republic, primarily, the economy. By the words of the acting minister, the result of the total blocking of foreign economic activity was the loss of traditional markets in the Russian Federation, the destruction of a number of spheres of economic activity, including freight transport sector, job cuts and shortfall of many millions in the state budget.
Vitaly Ignatiev also focused on the fact that the measures of direct restrictions on the rights of Pridnestrovian residents are applied along with the economic blockade against the PMR. Obvious examples of such actions, according to the acting minister, are the restriction on the freedom of movement of citizens and vehicles, as part of the Kiev operation “Border” as well, the politically motivated prosecution of authorities, entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens of PMR in Moldova.
During his speech, Vitaly Ignatiev stated that the reason and, at the same time the goal of the campaign on “strangulation” of Pridnestrovie are quite clear: in this region of Eastern Europe the republic remains the only springboard of Russian presence - primarily - civilizational. The head of the PMR’s MFA also reminded that the course towards rapprochement with Russia and Eurasian associations was defined by the Pridnestrovian people in the referendum in 2006, and then was fixed in the Concept of foreign policy of the republic. Thus, Vitaly Ignatiev said that the unprecedented non-military pressure on Pridnestrovie is actually part of a hybrid war against Russia.
The diplomat emphasized that this run of things is reflected in the negotiation process between Pridnestrovie and Moldova as well: during the last two years the dialogue is stagnant because of unilateral steps taken by Moldova. By taking new discriminatory measures against Pridnestrovie, Kishinev reduces the effectiveness of interaction at the negotiating table to a minimum, destroys the atmosphere of trust between the parties, along with this the representatives of Kishinev are able to evade contact with Pridnestrovie under various pretexts over the months, to sabotage the discussion of initiatives developed by the Pridnestrovian side. In the opinion of Vitaly Ignatiev, the neighbouring countries try actually to discredit the international negotiation format, to provoke destabilization of the situation and have a stab at resolving the conflict through undiplomatic methods. In this regard, the acting foreign minister said that the situation in Pridnestrovie deserves close attention of the international community.
In the course of communication with members of the “Russian school of policy” Vitaly Ignatiev noted that in difficult conditions of external pressure Pridnestrovie sees the prospects for improving the situation only in the context of strengthening cooperation with Russia, because, as experience shows, this is the establishment of the closest possible relations with Russia - a strategic partner of Pridnestrovie – that acts as a guarantee of stability and peaceful development. According to the head of the Foreign Ministry, Pridnestrovie takes a proactive position in this matter by initiating bilateral contacts in different areas and suggesting possible mechanisms of cooperation on various fields.
Upon completion of Vitaly Ignatiev’s lecture, the open discussion followed the meeting with the participants of the project “Russian school of policy”.
