Today, President of Pridnestrovie Yevgeny Shevchuk held a working visit with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Nina Shtanski. According to Presidential Press Service of the PMR, the main issue of the agenda was draft new Foreign Policy Concept of Pridnestrovie. The work on it was completed the day before. The head of foreign political office handed over to the President the final version of this document really important for the whole country.
E. Shevchuk: Nina Viktorovna, I charged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the task to develop the new version of Foreign Policy Concept. I know that draft of this document underwent public expertise and the work on this draft was completed. Please, inform about the results.
N. Shtanski: Dear Yevgeny Vasilievich, indeed, yesterday we finished the work in the framework of Public and Expert Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was truly collective work. We managed to involve clergymen and representatives of executive organs of power, Supreme Soviet, public organizations, business circles. Remarks by Ministry of Economic Development were particularly valuable for us. Foreign economic activity is one of the areas of foreign policy, therefore remarks by Ministry of Economic Development and also that of State Customs Committee significantly contributed to the given draft of the document.
It is necessary to underline that the version which is today submitted for Your consideration and subsequent signing contains principally new aspects. First of all, the main priority – Eurasian integration – is laid down. This idea was officially proclaimed by You.
Apart from that, there are conceptual novelties. There was a referendum in 2006. However, current Foreign Policy Concept doesn't reflect the course which was defined by the people of our Republic. This year the Government was established and the State Council was created. Certainly, these realities should be reflected in the Foreign Policy Concept.
In its structure, the document that we are submitting to You is principally different from the previous Concept. This document defines first of all goals and objectives of foreign policy of our Republic. Previous Concept specified neither goals nor objectives. In this document priorities and basic areas are defined separately.
I shall mark that in the previous Concept on the first place were relations with the Republic of Moldova and then - relations with the CIS-countries. Relations with Russia, in particular, were not singled out. Russia was mentioned only in the context of settlement of relations with Moldova as a country-guarantor and also as one of the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Current Concept, in its turn, defines two priorities. The first one is Eurasian integration and the second one – negotiation process. Further, basic directions of foreign policy are specified. Among them, on the first place are relations with the Russian Federation are, then – with Ukraine, and then –with Moldova. Following them are relations with Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorny Karabakh and only after that – with the rest states and international organizations.
We hope that this document to the fullest extent possible meets public demand, given that broad public participated in its work, inter alia, via Internet – citizens and young people forwarded their proposals to the Ministry.
E. Shevchuk: I thank You for the work done, for having developed such a significant document. Certainly, foreign policy objectives are important for any state. We must strictly abide by the Concept and the will of our citizens. This document will be a very important one in the structure of foreign policy objectives for all state authorities and government bodies of the Republic. I think, after its consideration at the Presidential Administration it will be approved in November and submitted to all state authorities and government bodies of the Republic. Say thank you to the members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for opportune and high quality work on draft document.
N. Shatnski: We were doing such work for the first time upon Your instruction. We have attracted broad public and achieved, in my view, a very good result. We were assisted considerably by the Public Council and the Public Chamber which conducted ad hoc meeting. We received quite volume conclusion. Separate conclusions were given by representatives of academic teaching staff of the state university. A round table took place following which we received paper with remarks and proposals written on its margins. Of course, all this is highly valuable because the document appeared to be to the utmost verified.
E. Shevchuk: I recommend that the most important documents elaborated by Foreign Ministry and dealing with foreign political decisions be henceforth discussed in the framework of public councils, with involvement of broad public, public organizations and political parties. This will make it possible to take into account the maximum number of citizens of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
N. Shtanski: We will be guided by this principle.
Originally published by : http://president.gospmr.ru/ru/news/osnovnoe-napravlenie-vneshney-politiki-pridnestrovya-razvitie-otnosheniy-s-rossiey
