The PMR foreign ministry hosted a discussion between Vitaly Ignatiev and American political scientist and expert John Kavulich.
John Kavulich is a political scientist, expert, President of US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council and Senior Research Editor of Issue Insight, an analytical portal dealing with international affairs. He has been studying the USSR and the post-Soviet space for more than 35 years.
The main focus of the conversation was on current international challenges and their impact on Pridnestrovie. Vitaly Ignatiev stressed that the republic is now in a much worse situation, since it has become a “hostage” to global processes associated with the mounting confrontation between Russia and the West. He noted that today Pridnestrovie is facing unprecedented risks and threats, including terrorist ones. In this context, he highlighted the terrorist attacks prevented on the territory of the PMR that targeted the leadership and residents of the country, as well as the OSCE delegation.
Referring to the Moldova-Pridnestrovie settlement, the diplomat stated that the international actors still follow inert, outdated approaches to resolving the conflict between the PMR and the RM that do not take the present realities into account. As a result, the negotiation process is deteriorating, while Moldova continues to exert pressure on Pridnestrovie. Fair international mediation is needed, the Minister said. Otherwise, according to him, the dialogue will only worsen.
“Because it is Moldova that, in the absence of proper international attention and influence, sabotages the settlement process, since it refuses to hold top-level meetings, does not fulfill the reached agreements, shows its unwillingness to address pressing social, humanitarian and economic issues, and generates new problems in relations between the sides,” the PMR foreign minister concluded.
The interlocutors also exchanged views on other issues, including the present-day trade and economic development of Pridnestrovie, the prospects for normalizing the regional context, etc.
