Eurasia Press & News
Smirnov and Voronin met in Moldova last year for the first time in seven years.
Moldova, its breakaway Transdniestria region and Russia agreed after talks on Wednesday that an international mission may replace Moscow’s peacekeepers in the conflict zone once a peace deal is concluded.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev invited Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and separatist leader Igor Smirnov to his Barvikha residence outside Moscow to try to speed up a political solution of the 19-year-old conflict.
Russia, which has had peacekeepers in Transdniestria since they halted fighting between government troops and separatists in 1992, has previously ruled out letting in an international force in a region where it says it has privileged interests.
The presence of Russian peacekeepers is a central issue in the search for a peace deal, with Moldova saying it wants the troops removed because it suspects that they sympathise with the separatists.
The three leaders signed a joint declaration committing themselves to finding a solution to the conflict, but there was no indication of any breakthrough on Transdniestria’s future status — another crucial stumbling block.
“The sides … noted the stabilising role of the current peacekeeping operation in the region and agreed that it would be expedient to transform it into a new mission under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe after a solution (to the conflict) is found,” the declaration said.
The dispute flared up in 1990 when predominantly Russian-speaking Transdniestria broke away on fears of Moldova’s possible merger with ethnic kin Romania. Since then it has been a source of instability on the European Union’s border.
Diplomatic efforts in the so-called 5+2 mediation format also including the United States, the European Union, the OSCE and Moldova’s neighbour Ukraine have yielded little success.
Voronin and Smirnov met last year after a seven-year break, but failed to reach progress in solving the conflict. Wednesday’s talks were the first time the two had together held talks with the Russian leader.
FRESH EFFORTS
Russia has renewed efforts to mediate a resolution of the conflict in an attempt show it still maintains influence in settling ex-Soviet conflicts after last year’s war with Georgia damaged its reputation as an honest broker.
Russia’s activity has raised eyebrows among some Western partners, who suspect Moscow of trying to sideline them over Moldova. Wednesday’s declaration said Western states would retain a role in the mediation.
However, one analyst said the declaration could in fact allow Russia to tighten its grip on Moldova.
“In this way Russia is guaranteeing the preservation of its military presence in Moldova for an indefinite period because no one knows when there will be a Transdniestria peace deal and what it will be,” Igor Botan, director of the ADEPT think tank in Moldova, told Reuters.
