Dodon: Moldovan Government Not Interested in Solving the Transdniestrian Problem

He believes that the Cabinet is afraid of this problem The Moldovan government, which was formed by the pro-European Democratic Party, is not interested in solving the Transdniestrian problem. This was stated by the country’s president Igor Dodon in an interview with the Moldovan television channel Accent. “Our government is afraid of solving the Transdniestrian problem. Why should the democrats solve the problem of Transdniestria? Do they need another 200 thousand votes of pro-Russian forces in the legal field of Moldova?” Dodon asked. He also noted that the cabinet “is not interested in granting the right to vote to 600,000 Moldovan migrants in Russia”, who traditionally vote for socialists and other parties favoring rapprochement with Russia. “This will completely change the situation in Moldova, where 1.5 million citizens vote. They [the government] will use any loopholes to postpone the settlement of the Transdniestrian problem,” Dodon explained. He expressed concern that when adopting a special law on Gagauzia, rights of the autonomy residents were not spelled out in the constitution. “When we agreed that we would do an audit of all the laws, the Democratic Party refused. And this is a bad precedent. Transdniestria will say, what can be agreed with them? You promised the Gagauz, more than 20 years have passed and nothing has been done, but how will it be with us?” complained the politician. There is no alternative “Negotiations will be tough, but they have no alternative<…> It does not matter how this form of government will be called. The main thing is what will be in the competence of the Transdniestrian region, what will be in the competence of the united country. So, now all the fuss is over a contradiction in the competencies and powers that Transdniestrians will receive, as they will be represented in the authorities of the united state,” the Moldovan head said. He expressed his conviction that “the accession of Transdniestria to Russia”, for which residents of the unrecognized republic voted in a referendum in 2006, is “unrealistic”. Dodon also criticized those politicians who claim that Russia is imposing federalization on Moldova. “In fact, we have a certain form of federation. We already have an autonomous entity – Gagauzia. And when we talk about the federation, it was not Russia that offered it first, but the US, and many times. It’s just that now it’s not fashionable to talk about it because of Ukraine,” Dodon said. Earlier, the head of Moldavia repeatedly criticized the government for intensifying cooperation with NATO despite the neutrality prescribed in the constitution. He believes that such a policy aggravates the negative dynamics of the talks on the status of Transdniestria, as well as a dialogue with the authorities of the unrecognized republic. Parliamentary elections Dodon noted that the prerequisites for solving the Transdniestria problem may appear after the next February 24 elections to the Moldovan parliament. “The development of the situation with Transdniestria will depend on the results of the parliamentary elections,” Dodon said. He said that during meetings with the president of the unrecognized Transdniestrian region Vadim Krasnoselsky, he was repeatedly objected that the Moldovan president does not have enough authority to make decisions on this issue. He expressed the hope that if, after the elections, “Socialist Party supporting the president will form the ruling majority and the government”, this will allow to intensify the negotiations with Transdniestria. “What is happening in geopolitical terms confirms my hopes that in 2018 there may be an opportunity to talk about a solution to the Transdniestrian conflict, although there are no implementation tools yet,” said Dodon, noting that the ruling Democratic Party, which controls the current pro-European majority in parliament and the government, is not interested in solving the Transdniestrian problem. Source: TASS