One of the main foreign policy events for Pridnestrovie in September has become its participation in another round of informal consultations between participants of the Permanent Consultations on Political Issues in the Framework of the Pridnestrovian Settlement Negotiation Process (the five plus two format) held in Vienna on 27-28 September. The Pridnestrovian delegation participated in it on the invitation of the Kazakh OSCE Chairman-in-office. Today, at briefing for the Pridnestrovian and other journalists accredited in the Republic, the PMR's MFA head took stock of the Vienna meeting.
According to Vladimir Yastrebchak, the participants of the consultations in Vienna exchanged views on the current situation in the region and discussed objectives the sides are facing today. “One of the top priority targets is to give impetus to the work of expert (working) groups to make it possible for the experts to solve problems for the benefit of the residents of Moldova and Pridnestrovie avoiding where possible politicization of this or that issues,” Vladimir Yastrebchak said.
In his words, during the Vienna meeting the Moldovan side in broad terms informed Tiraspol about possible changes and annexes to be introduced to a number of regulations of the Moldovan government. What is meant here is the possible fine-tuning of the Chisinau political line regarding control over railway movement of Pridnestrovian cargo. It is to be reminded, as a result of the 2006 unilateral decision of the Moldovan government the Pridnestrovian enterprises are forced to export their goods through the territory of Moldova – the fact that causes considerable increase of transportation expenditures. In early September 2010, Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister Victor Osipov announced that in meeting the request of the Pridnestrovian enterprises the Moldovan authorities decided to optimize the mechanism and ways of exports via railway. At the same time, the Moldovan side hasn't presented the corresponding governmental decision to Tiraspol by now. In Vienna the Moldovan representatives promised to publish it this week. “Unilateral legal acts are not bad, of course, especially when the problem itself is also created by unilateral acts. Nevertheless, it would still be more correct to follow the path of bilateral agreements securely guaranteed by our external partners,” told Vladimir Yastrebchak in his comments.
During consultations in Vienna, the participants considered also issues connected with the movement of people, goods and services through the borders of the region. Earlier the OSCE Mission to Moldova elaborated the list of 26 issues viewed as most problematic in this sphere. “We managed to consider a number of these problems, some of them were eliminated from the list,” told the PMR's MFA head. In particular, following the Pridnestrovian initiative, the issue of visa restrictions introduced by the EU for Pridnestrovian officials and extended during many years was removed from the list. “It's not the topic to be discussed within 5+2 format, it is an issue of bilateral cooperation between the EU and Pridnestrovie,” told Vladimir Yastrebchak. Commenting the very fact of the visa ban, the Minister compared it with the EU practice in relation to the leadership of Belarus. According to Vladimir Yastrebchak, the introduced restrictions hinder not only Tiraspol but the European side as well. “While applying such measures, the European Union cannot seek for objectiveness in the Moldova-Pridnestrovie settlement process,” the head of Pridnestrovian diplomacy told. “In our view, there are no obstacles for the given visa restrictions to be completely abolished.”
At the Vienna meeting, the OSCE Mission to Moldova presented also an index of documents previously signed in the negotiation process. In the words of the head of the Pridnestrovian foreign policy department, the examination of this index revealed that not all reached accords were included there. Besides, it contained documents adopted unilaterally. In this connection, according to the Minister, the Pridnestrovian side clearly stated that unilateral declarations and statements such as, for example, regulations of Moldova's government cannot be included in the list of negotiation process agreements.
Upon the request of the journalists, Vladimir Yastrebchak made comments on the initiative voiced in Vienna by the Moldovan side as to increase role of the EU and the USA, currently fulfilling the function of observers in the settlement process, and to grant them the status of mediators. “There were no specific proposals regarding this issue except general statements about how good this would be. Who will benefit from this and what are objective grounds for this remained unknown for us,” told Vladimir Yastrebchak. He pointed out that the USA took this proposal without much enthusiasm. “In Vienna we heard that the US representatives proceed from the need to additionally discuss this topic with both the EU and their leadership,” told the Minister. He reminded that the status of observers is fixed by ad hoc Protocol signed in September 2005. “If our partners have proposals as to its modification, then a relevant project is to be prepared and considered by all the interested sides which will make decision by consensus. By now, there are no objective and legal prerequisites for changing status of the USA and the EU in the Moldova-Pridnestrovie settlement,” told the head of the Pridnestrovian MFA.
The Minister told, in the course of the Vienna consultations, the Pridnestrovian side once again raised issue regarding the need to elaborate a comprehensive guarantee system mechanism in the settlement process. Vladimir Yastrebchak reminded that the basis for creating such a mechanism is laid in the Draft Agreement on the Basis for the System of Guarantees which was handed over to the Moldovan side at the meeting of the three Presidents of Russia, Pridnestrovie and Moldova, held in Moscow on 18 March 2009. The head of the PMR's MFA told, as part of these initiatives, a seminar on guarantees will be held on 7-8 October under auspices of the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the British Embassy in the RM and will take place in Tiraspol and Chisinau. According to the Minister, broad attendance of foreign experts is anticipated at the seminar, including those from the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Great Britain and other states. As Vladimir Yastrebchak noted, the Pridnestrovian side is intended to be most actively involved in this international event.
