All news

Transdniestrian FM says attempts to preserve Moldova’s Soviet-era borders are utopian

The minister regrets the world refuses to recognize the will of Transdniestria’s people
Transdnestri's capital Tiraspol EPA/DUMITRU DORU
Transdnestri's capital Tiraspol
© EPA/DUMITRU DORU

TIRASPOL, June 21. /TASS/. Moldova’s attempts to preserve the Soviet-era borders while settling the Transdnietsrian problem are utopian, Transdniestria’s acting Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatyev said.

"We make only realistic forecasts, unlike our Moldovan colleagues and some international partners who prefer to follow an utopian idea of preserving the borders of ‘Soviet Moldova,’" the press service of the Transdniestrian foreign ministry quoted his as saying in an interview with German journalists making a film about Transdniestria.

He noted that since 1990, when the non-recognized republic of Transdniestria sprang into existence, more than 35 new states have been formed, with most of them being internationally recognized. "The fundamental basis for the sovereignty of a number of such countries was the will of the people. And this is the only scenario acceptable for Transdniestria. Our principled position has always been as follows: the settlement is to rest on the actual reality that has formed over these years and be based on the people’s will," he stressed. "Regrettably, world players refuse to recognize the opinion of Transdniestria’s people within the frames of their utopian scenario of preserving the borders of the former Soviet Moldovan Republic."

"We will never be able to reach a lasting settlement unless we ignore the principle of free expression of people’s will about which path to follow and how to build their state," Ignatyev stressed.

Talks in the 5+2 format, involving Moldova and Transdniestria as parties to the conflict, the OSCE as a mediator, Russia and Ukraine as guarantors and the European Union and the United States as observers, resumed last week in Berlin after a two-year break. The talks proceed laboriously as the parties have opposite views on the political format of future relations between Chisinau and Tiraspol

In 2005, the Moldovan parliament passed a law establishing Transdnietria’s status as Moldova’s inseparable part. In response, Transdniestria organized a referendum in 2006 where 97.1% of participants voted for independence with subsequent free-will accession to Russia.