​REINTEGRATION BUREAU VOICES REGRET AND DISAPPOINTMENT WITH TIRASPOL’S ACTIONS

The Republic of Moldova Bureau for Country Reintegration has expressed “regret and disappointment” with the Tiraspol authorities’ actions aimed at strengthening the region’s independence and its subsequent accession to the Russian Federation.

“The Bureau has perceived with bewilderment the so-called presidential decree issued by the Transnistrian leader for realization of the results of the so-called “republican referendum of September 17, 2006” on the independence of Transnistria and its subsequent accession to Russia. The Moldovan Government qualifies this act as one having no legal effect and as unacceptable, given that the referendum was organized unlawfully by the region’s non-constitutional authorities on a part of the Republic of Moldova territory”, said the Statement.

The Bureau expressed “regret and deep disappointment that these actions are undermining the efforts by the Moldovan constitutional authorities and by international partners – stakeholders in the 5+2 format negotiation process aimed at achieving a viable settlement to the Transnistrian problem with the observance of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova and with working out a special legal status for the Transnistrian region”.

“Such a defiant and regrettable behavior should be strongly condemned in the conditions of the recent resumption of negotiations on Transnistrian conflict settlement”, said the document.

In this context, the Moldovan authorities have requested the international players participating in the conflict settlement process to express their attitude to the decree signed by the Tiraspol leader and thus to prevent a new suspension of the negotiating process and the appearance of a new seat of tension in this region of Europe.

As already reported by Infotag, on September 7 president Yevgeny Shevchuk signed a decree compelling the regional government to set up an ad hoc commission and to submit to him, before November 1, a comprehensive plan of bringing the Transnistrian legislation in line with Russia’s federal legislation, along with a plan realization timeframe.

The decree, called “On the realization of the result of the all-republican referendum of September 17, 2006”, reads that a fundamental direction of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic’s domestic policy is the harmonization of its legal system with Russia’s federal legislation.

At the 2006 referendum, whose 10th anniversary is going to be celebrated with a particular pomp, over 98% Transnistrians voted for the region’s independence from Moldova and for its subsequent accession to the Russian Federation.