Moscow and Tiraspol Open New Political Season

This year Moscow and Tiraspol are going to foster active cooperation connected both with Moldova-Pridnestrovie settlement issue and matters of bilateral cooperation. This statement was made yesterday by representatives of the Russian and Transdniestrian Foreign Offices in follow-up of the meeting which was held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR.

From the Russian side the meeting was attended by Ambassador-at-large of the Russian MFA Valeriy Nesterushkin, Advisor of the Russian MFA on peacekeeping Marat Kulakhmetov,  and Senior Adviser of the Russian Embassy in Moldova, Co-chairperson of  the JCCfrom Russia Sergey Gorlov. The Transdniestrian side was represented by PMR's Foreign Minister Vladimir Yastrebchak and his deputies, Sergey Simonenko and Alexander Maliarchuk.

According to Valery Nesterushkin, Moscow starts new political season being in contacts with Tiraspol. He specified that this year's first visit by Russian diplomats to Transdniestria had become “a continuation of consultations which were held even during the off-season time.” In Ambassador's words, in the course of these consultations a wide range of issues affecting interests of the sides, in particular, prospects for political Dniester settlement process, were discussed.

As Valery Nesterushkin told, this visit by Russian representatives to Tiraspol “is pursuing a particular goal, that is, to study conditions for conducting peacekeeping operation in the region.”The members of the Russian delegation have already talked to its command. Today they also intend to visit peacekeeping posts in the central part of the Security Zone and afterwards, to join the rest of the Russia's diplomatic working group which is to pay a visit to Chisinau and Tiraspol these days.

Summing up the meeting in the PMR's MFA, head of the Ministry Vladimir Yastrebchak noted that this meeting continued those consultations which had been opened in Moscow the previous week.  In his words, in the light of appeals made by Chisinau for transforming the peacekeeping mechanism, it is of particular importance today to confirm the viability of the Joint Statement of the Presidents of Russia, Moldova and Transdniestria adopted at the conclusion of March 18, 2009 summit. It marks a stabilizing role of the peacekeeping operation on the Dniester and implies that the format of this operation will be preserved until the decision about final political settlement in the region is reached. At the same time, according to the Minister, the current peacekeeping mechanism demands examination and probably, certain measures for improving its certain parameters. In particular, it is resumption of regular joint exercises of peacekeeping forces as well as reestablishment of former components of the operation (such as Russian helicopter squadron and also, the number of Russian peacekeepers must correspond to the parameters fixed in the Agreement “On principles of peaceful settlement of an armed conflict in the Transdniestrian region of the Republic of Moldova” of June 21, 1992).

In his response to the questions by media representatives as to the presidential elections in Ukraine, Vladimir Yastrebchak told that Tiraspol expects the policy of new Ukrainian leadership, which is to be formed at the end of this political process, to be stable and predictable. “We hope that official Kiev will proceed from Ukraine's interests,” said the head of the PMR's MFA.