MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CHANGES HIS MIND
25.03.2009
Chisinau. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin refused to go to Tiraspol on Wednesday for a meeting with Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov, the Ministry of Reintegration reported late at night on Tuesday.
The Ministry wrote in a press release that the ban on entering the Transnistrian region, announced yesterday by Tiraspol on U.S. and EU observers for the 5+2 negotiation format, is demonstrating that the Transnistrian side is, so far, not ready for meeting its own commitments or for continuing a dialog just taking shape.
“In such situation, President Vladimir Voronin is refraining from attending the Tiraspol meeting with Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov scheduled for March 25”, the document said.
The Ministry wrote that the Wednesday’s agenda included questions of working out confidence-building measures between Chisinau and Tiraspol and concrete joint projects in this field.
Without doubt, the document said, this meeting in Tiraspol was conceived as a continuation of the fruitful dialog held between the Moldovan President and Transnistrian leader in Moscow in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last Wednesday. At that meeting, the parties worked to bring closer their positions on some principal issues, such as, e.g. the inviolability of the 5+2 negotiation format [Moldova and Transnistria as the conflicting sides, Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as international mediators; and the European Union and United States as observers], and the parties’ readiness to embark on 5+2 negotiations already in the first half of 2009.
The Ministry expressed hope Tiraspol will do everything necessary for the spirit of constructivism, openness and cooperation to dominate in Tiraspol’s position again, and to lift the restrictions on entering the region imposed on Western negotiation participants.
“It is only with such approach that the official Chisinau sees it expedient and productive to continue consultations”, wrote the Moldovan Ministry of Reintegration.
As Infotag has already reported, on Tuesday the secessionist Transnistrian republic announced slapping a travel ban on a whole number of Western officials. Igor Smirnov stated at a news conference yesterday that, in particular, Tiraspol had closed doors to Transnistria for European Union Special Representative for Moldova Kalman Mizsei, U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Moldova Asif J. Chaudhry, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to the Republic of Moldova, Petr Kypr, whose country is now presiding the European Union. So far, there is no confirmation to a previous information that the ban allegedly applied also to a dozen or so of European Union officials. Neither is it known from which concrete date the ban has been in force, and for how long.
Smirnov stated only that was Tiraspol’s reply to the European Union Council of Ministers’ decision to extend for another 12 months, until February 2010, the travel ban on top Transnistria officials.
Quite many observers have an impression that since the last week’s Moscow meeting, Igor Smirnov did all he could to upset his new meeting with President Vladimir Voronin. Smirnov seems to believe that Voronin is only pursuing his instant electoral objectives, while the Transnistrian leader hasn’t the faintest desire to help Voronin achieve these objectives.
Add comment