He has appealed to Russia, the U.S., Ukraine, Romania and the European Union to draft and sign the desired pact, which he sees as instrumental in restoring order and stability throughout Moldova.
"We are referring again and again to an available five-sided format of the negotiations-Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, Chisinau and Tiraspol. Meanwhile, the Russian and Ukrainian mediators have not come up with a single initiative ever since the arrangement appeared," complained the President.
The unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic-Moldova's industrially best-developed part, along the left Dniester bank-has a multiethnic population, with Russian speakers preponderant, and a center in Tiraspol. It broke off from Moldova early in the 1990s. Leaders of the area approve negotiation proceedings, the way they are now-a status quo ante perfectly satisfies them, said President Voronin.
The Chisinau-Tiraspol conflict has come to an edge with a recent decision on the Transdniestria top to close down several secondary schools with Moldovan for tuition language, and Roman letters for writing. Moldovan leaders hit back with economic sanctions against the rebellious republic, to be introduced today.
Calls for an economic blockade and, in fact, trade warfare come from either bank of the Dniester.
As Moscow sees it, the present, time-tested arrangement of five negotiating Parties promises to lead to compromise solutions for all disputable matters. Chisinau, however, intends to involve the U.S. and Romania, as we can judge by President Voronin's televised statement. To all appearances, Moldova expects the two new negotiators to support it without reservations.
