​PIRKKA TAPIOLA: COST OF MOLDOVA'S AND TRANSNISTRIA'S NON-REUNIFICATION IS BIG FOR BOTH SIDES

The cost of Moldova's and Transnistria's non-reunification is big for both sides, the Head of the EU delegation to Moldova, Ambassador Pirkka Tapiola, believes.

In an interview with Publika TV, Pirkka Tapiola said that Chisinau and Tiraspol need to look at common interests, stressing that all the existing problems "will not be solved overnight". At the same time, he noted the importance of stepping up confidence measures between the two banks, and increasing dramatically the intensity of regularly meetings between the political representatives of the two sides.

"Both sides should take the obligation to find solutions. That is how common interest is born," Pirkka Tapiola said, adding that "geopolitics should be slowly taken out of the equation" with officials focusing on "what really affects people".

Asked why the fact that half of Transnistria's export goes to the West has not yet helped to improve ties between the two banks, Pirkka Tapiola said: "There are two things: One is trust and there is a need to build confidence. That is mutual. There is need to have mutual political will to build that confidence. There is also a dilemma that this conflict will need all the participants in the 5+2 format to be solved. At the same time, there is a feeling that that will not be possible because of one or another side. Well, I just think that one needs to try."

Asked whether the reunification was possible with the presence of the Russian troops in Transnistria, the EU ambassador said that this "needs to happen sooner or later". "This has been said even by representatives of the Russian Federation very clearly that there can be a transformation of the current peacekeeping operation in the context of a settlement. Now all this is part of security and guarantee arrangements which will need to be negotiated in that context. But I do understand very clearly that for Chisinau it is a red line," the EU ambassador said.

Pirkka Tapiola believes that "the special status for Transnistria can be very broad". At the same time, he advised politicians not to stick to stereotypes and think that one side or another is not reliable.

"I cannot say what the final settlement will look like. It will have to be something which is acceptable to both sides, which provides the viability of Moldova as a state and provides the special status which takes into consideration Transnistria's legitimate interests," Pirkka Tapiola said, adding that Moldovan politicians will have a very strong partner in the EU to find the courage to address the Transnistrian issue.