We have familiarized ourselves with the opinion of officials from the office of the political representative of the Republic of Moldova expressed in the media who described the Declaration of Commitment to peaceful methods of conflict settlement put forward by Pridnestrovie for signature as an allegedly “provocative” initiative.
We deem it important to publish the text of the draft Declaration officially handed over by the Pridnestrovian side during the meeting of the political representatives of the parties on May 17 of this year, so that everyone can draw their own conclusions about the contents and objectives of this document.
“As we mark 30 years since the start of the negotiation process aimed at peaceful resolution of the conflict, the parties welcome civilized political methods of dialogue and facilitation of international mediators with a view to resolving specific problems in the interests of the people.
The sides will make efforts to prevent the negotiation situation from deteriorating.
The participants in the dialogue reaffirm their commitment to peaceful methods of conflict resolution and to settling all issues exclusively at the negotiating table without preconditions, their willingness to act in good faith, to engage in negotiations on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and to faithfully abide by the agreements reached.
The sides would welcome the joining of all participants in the negotiation process to this Declaration”.
The Pridnestrovian initiative was as transparent as possible, and its only goal was to expressly and clearly confirm the commitment of both sides to peaceful approaches to settlement. The draft declaration contains no new concepts, and all its provisions were earlier fixed in the existing agreements of the international negotiation process.
The adequacy and motives of Chisinau, which labeled the Pridnestrovian initiative as “provocative” and the willingness to avoid deterioration of the situation in the dialogue as “a mala fide goal”, raise questions.
We recommend that the Republic of Moldova representatives take another careful glance at the draft Declaration and thoughtfully reflect on its contents.
In this case, international mediators and observers, as well as the general public, can judge for themselves what Moldova’s real approaches to relations with Pridnestrovie are at the current stage.
