Today, Foreign Ministry of the PMR hosted the meeting of Deputy Chairperson of the Government of the PMR for International Cooperation, Foreign Minister Nina Shtanski with experts of Crisis Management Initiative, a European non-governmental organization. Participating in the meeting were Roxana Cristescu, Head of CMI's Programme in Eastern Europe & Caucasus, Denis Matveev, adviser to CMI's Black Sea and Central Asia projects, Elena Bobkova, Director of the Independent Center for Analytical Research “New Age”, Yuriy Cheban, Vice-President of the Union of Industrialists, Agrarians and Entrepreneurs of Pridnestrovie, Sergey Shirokov, Director of the Bureau for Political Research and IT “Mediator”, as well as ex-Foreign Minister of the PMR, independent expert Vladimir Yastrebchak.
In the course of the meeting, Nina Shtanski expressed gratitude to the CMI representatives for attention to the problems of Pridnestrovie, and highly estimated significance of expert support for the republic. “We highly appreciate cooperation with CMI and are open for exchange of views with representatives of expert circles. Earlier, I chanced to be involved in the work of similar formats and, frankly speaking, today this experience helps me on my diplomatic path,” she told.
“Three of the participants of your group are members of the public and expert council established under the Foreign Ministry of the PMR. One of the participants is my colleague who led foreign office until 2012. I am sure, estimates and recommendations of such a reputable and well-known expert group will be interesting for our work, and the meeting will be held in a friendly atmosphere”, the diplomat told.
Experts from Pridnestrovie, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and the European Union presented results of the joint work on the study of existing topical problems in Moldova-Pridnestrovie relations, forecasting possible development scenarios and elaboration of possible mechanisms of their solution. Reports of experts were focused on three areas: social policy in Pridnestrovie and Moldova; minimization of potential risks for Pridnestrovie due to the new trade regime between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union (DCFTA); and prospects of Swiss-Serbian OSCE Chairmanship.
Exchange of views revealed convergence of positions of diplomats and experts on most points. A separate exchange of opinions took place in relation to the system of interaction between Pridnestrovie and the Republic of Moldova in economic sphere. It was marked at the meeting that the new set of changes to the tax law adopted recently by the Moldovan side is seen as unilateral and radical disruption of bilateral economic ties. Assessing interaction between Pridnestrovie and Moldova in economic sphere, Nina Shtanski characterized it as “haphazard, hardly predictable, unstable and confrontational.” “Unfortunately, today our economic interaction has more pressure, sanctions and discrimination than cooperation”, she marked.
For reference: “Crisis Management Initiative” is an independent, non-governmental organization that works to resolve conflict and to build sustainable peace. It was founded by former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari in 2000. Its activity affects Moldova-Pridnestrovie conflict settlement as part of the Black Sea and Central Asia Program. Earlier, the CMI initiated and implemented a series of activities on Moldova-Pridnestrovie conflict settlement. In particular, starting from 2012, CMI has been actively involved in the process of solving social and humanitarian issues in relations between Pridnestrovie and Moldova.
